Travel operators, airlines slump after EgyptAir plane vanishes

Shares of travel operators and airlines dropped on Thursday after an EgyptAir flight disappeared en route from Paris to Cairo. The incident follows an EgyptAir hijacking in March and a spate of terror attacks in Europe and Turkey that have left the travel industry struggling with lower bookings for the summer holidays. Shares of Thomas Cook Group PLC were hardest hit on Thursday, down 17%. However, Thomas Cook's share price slump was also driven by a downbeat full-year outlook from the tour operator, which said demand for travel to Turkey has dropped significantly. Shares of peer company TUI AG dropped 2.9%, while EasyJet PLC lost 1.9% and International Consolidated Airlines SA fell 1.6%.

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