Thomson counts cost of Egypt riots

The company said it had cancelled holidays to the riot-hit countries, as well as incurred the costs of returning travellers, which could hit its second-quarter results by 25m to 30m.

TUI chief executive Peter Long said: "We are closely monitoring events in Egypt and Tunisia and the safety of our customers is our primary consideration."

Violent demonstrations against the Government in Egypt have grabbed attention across the world for the last week after similar action in fellow North African country Tunisia. Hundreds of Britons fled both destinations as the disruption unfolded.

The warning came as TUI posted a pre-tax loss of 134m in the three months to December 31, compared to a 166m loss in the same period last year.

The company said it had cancelled trips to Egypt from markets including Germany, France and the Netherlands, but it was still operating holidays to Red Sea resorts from the UK.

Even with the UK to Red Sea packages open, if the company is unable to operate holidays from any other markets for the rest of the winter it will cost TUI at least 20m.