The market puts the focus on European airlines: Norwegian, IAG and Air France as the most affected.

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The number of people infected by covid-19 has shot up in recent weeks in most European countries. This situation has led many nations to tighten their mobility restrictions and the major European airlines are cutting back on their schedule for the autumn-winter season. In this context, market experts point to Norwegian, IAG and Air France-KLM as the airlines most affected, and stress that the uncertainty could be prolonged, Ok Diario reported.

See also: IAG Group announces changes in its management team.

In the last month the Norwegian airline has fallen in the stock market around 40%, followed closely by the Anglo-Spanish company IAG, which has lost around 30% and the French holding company which has fallen 20%. As a result, companies in the sector are increasingly feeling the harsh impact that the coronavirus pandemic is having on the tourism sector, whose forecasts are increasingly less favorable.

See also: Norwegian considering closing its base at Gatwick Airport, London.

Diego Morín, an analyst at IG Markets, points out that “we are facing a situation of continuous uncertainty, as the news coming from European countries is not at all encouraging due to the increase in cases of coronavirus. In fact, we saw how this Thursday Ryanair announced on its Twitter account a cut in its flight schedule by 40% for the months of November and December, which includes the closure of bases in Cork, Shannon and Toulouse”.

For their part, the analysts of Investing.com, highlight that “the European airline sector registered falls of more than 15% in the stock market last September, after coming from a positive August. The worsening of the situation of the coronavirus pandemic, with an uncontrolled increase in cases of contagion in Europe, notably slows down the growth prospects of the sector’s activity”.

The outlook facing companies in the sector over the coming months is increasingly bleak, with a significant drop in reserves in recent weeks. The autumn and winter season has always been characterized by a decline in traveler demand, which this year will be significantly increased by the impact of the pandemic and the restrictions that many countries still have on mobility between countries.

By Natalia Mateos Magariño

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