News that an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo has disappeared coupled with a weak set of first half results send shares in travel agent Thomas Cook (TCG) plummeting 17% to 74.4p.
The group has seen a huge slumpin holidays to Turkey following terrorist attacks in the region last year, while demand in Belgium has also sharply declined on the back of the Brussels airport attack in March.
Bookings for summer 2016 are currently down by 5% overall, although bookings to destinations excluding Turkey are up 6% year-on-year.
Thomas Cook says it expects a shortfall, particularly in Airlines Germany, which means full-year underlying EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) is likely to be at the bottom end of analyst expectations at £310 million to £335 million.
The good news in the otherwise gloomy results statement is the group has managed to slightly grow its revenues to £2.67 billion and has increased its underlying gross margin by 10 basis points as a result of selling higher quality holidays.
It says it’s confident of meeting its growth expectations to 2018.
The disappearance of the EgyptAir flight over the Mediterranean Sea has also hit other travel stocks, with TUI (TUI) down 1.7% to £10.15 and beach website On the Beach (OTB) 5% lower at 289p.
