LONDON (Reuters) - Battered European airline stocks plunged nearly 10% on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he will restrict travel from Europe to the United States for 30 days to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
The surprise move is another setback for the sector that has been roiled by several travel bans across the world and falling passenger volumes amid the virus outbreak, which has been declared a pandemic.
Trump's move sent shivers through stock markets with the pan-European STOXX 600 (STOXX) dropping 4%, mainly dragged down by the travel & leisure sector (SXTP).
Air France KLM (PA:AIRF) shares, which have lost more than half of their value since the coronavirus outbreak in Europe, dropped 15% to August 2012 lows.
Germany's Lufthansa (DE:LHAG) and British Airways and Iberia-owner IAG (L:ICAG) fell 9%. Cruise operator Carnival (L:CCL) plunged to 11-year lows.