Shares in airlines and holiday operators fell sharply this morning as the true cost of the volcanic ash disruption became clearer.
British Airways, which is losing £10m per day because of the crisis, was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 in early trading, down 4%. Other airlines added to last Friday's losses, with Easyjet down 3.7%, Aer Lingus shedding 6.67% and Ryanair losing 4.8%.
This came as the head of Iata, the airline's international trade body, raised its estimate for global losses to $250m (£164m) per day, up from $200m on Friday. Iata, which slammed European governments for their lack of leadership, also warned that the economic cost of the ash spewing from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano would be "more severe than 9/11".
Tour operator Tui Travel was another big faller in London this morning, down 2.9% at 283p. It warned the City this morning that it has already lost £20m because of the ban on flights across much of Europe. Tui, which operates Thomson Holidays and First Choice, expects to keep losing up to £6m per day until the crisis is over.
This warning also sent shares in Thomas Cook down by 3.4%.
European airlines have also suffered this morning. Air Berlin and Air France-KLM both lost up to 8% in the first few minutes of trading, while Finnair dropped 5% and Scandinavian operator SAS fell 2.5%.
