The online travel company ebookers.com, purveyors of discounted air fares and hotel rooms, said today that it would cut between 70 and 140 jobs in the wake of last month's US attacks.

Up to half the cuts are likely to come in Britain and Ireland, where half of the company's 700 staff work.

The company said that the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon had caused a "substantial drop" in business after a promising start to September.

"September 10 was our busiest day ever," a spokesman said.

He added that the company was expected to report a lower loss for the third quarter of the year than that seen in the second quarter.

In July, the company reported half-year losses of £17.2m but said it expected to generate a positive cash-flow later this year or early in 2002.

The chief executive, Dinesh Dhamija, today said that the company was taking "decisive measures" to cope with the fall in demand following the hijackings in the United States.