Willie Walsh blasts ‘knee-jerk’ travel bans as FTSE 100 rebounds

Overall, it’s a positive start to the week for travel stocks, which were some of the hardest hit in last week’s rout.

Ryanair jumped as much as 3.5pc at the open before easing back slightly, while easyJet has added 1pc and Wizz Air jumped 3pc. Other airlines across Europe also benefited, with Lufthansa up 1.5pc.

British Airways owner IAG is the most sluggish – dipping 0.4pc into the red before reversing losses to tick up 0.2pc.

Other travel-related stocks such as cruise operator Carnival and travel hub-focused retailer WH Smith also helped drive up the FTSE 250.

The sector suffered a major setback on Friday as fears mounted over the omicron Covid variant, with new travel restrictions rolled out on South Africa. Many countries have begun tightening rules, with Japan to close its borders to foreign travellers from tomorrow.

Still, analysts say the sell-off was overblown. Goldman Sachs described the scale of the fall as “excessive”, while Citi said the risks for the stocks were now priced in.