PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - European airline stocks tumbled on Friday after Britain reimposed coronavirus quarantine on people arriving from France, in a new blow to already dented recovery hopes for the sector.
EasyJet (L:EZJ) fell 7% in early trading, with British Airways parent IAG (L:ICAG) and Air France-KLM (PA:AIRF) almost 6% lower and budget carrier Ryanair (I:RYA) down 4.7%, after the United Kingdom said it was adding countries including France, the Netherlands and Malta to its quarantine list.
Tour operator TUI (LON:TUIT) was down 5.5 percent, with French hotel group Accor (PA:ACCP) and Channel Tunnel operator Getlink (PA:GETP) also lower.
The move, which affects some 160,000 British holidaymakers currently in France according to official estimates, will take effect at 0300 GMT on Saturday.
It comes a day after airlines lowered their European traffic outlook, with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicting a 60% decline in passenger numbers for 2020 after a summer that has fallen short of recovery hopes.