This weekend's US Presidents' weekend holiday bookings for Bermuda have not been seriously affected by an American Airlines pilots strike, Tourism Minister David Allen said yesterday.

But Mr. Allen warned: "We have, however, to expect that there will be some cancellations.'' Mr. Allen said, however, AA had made "every effort'' to re-book grounded Bermuda-bound passengers on other airlines serving the Island.

And he added: "I am pleased to report that there does not appear to be any significant impact -- save, of course, the obvious inconvenience of having to change flights and departure dates.'' But Mr. Allen admitted the airline dispute had "very seriously disrupted'' normal service between Bermuda and New York's JFK airport.

He said: "The last American Airlines flight to service Bermuda this week was on Tuesday and based upon our most recent consultation with both local and overseas contacts, there is no firm guarantee when the next scheduled flight is expected to resume service.'' Mr. Allen added it would be "totally improper'' to discuss the causes of the dispute between management and flight crews.

He said: "It is important, however, to appreciate that Bermuda is not the only destination affected.'' And he pointed out that Thursday saw a total of more than 1100 flights spanning US internal flights and services to Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.

He said he had been in touch with airline representatives and some of the major hotels to discuss the impact of the disruption.

And he told MPs in a statement to the House of Assembly that the Tourism Ministry would continue to monitor developments in the dispute.

Yesterday, US President Bill Clinton stepped into the row and urged the airline and its pilots to end the dispute.

He said: "With the potential for enormous disruption over the upcoming Presidents' Day weekend, I urge both parties to think of the impact on the travelling public, set aside their differences and work to resolve the issues between them.'' A Federal judge earlier this week ordered the pilots back to work -- but hundreds have continued to call in sick and refuse to work overtime.