ASX 200 travel shares slide amid travel chaos and cancellations

It hasn't been a good day on the market for ASX 200 travel shares.

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Key points
  • ASX 200 travel shares are in the red today 
  • It comes as new figures on flight delays and cancellations emerge 
  • Staff sickness with COVID-19 and the flu, along with severe weather, is impacting flights 

ASX 200 travel shares are plunging today amid ongoing travel chaos.

Travel shares falling on Tuesday include Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN), Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), and Webjet Ltd (ASX: WEB).

Let's take a look at what's impacting travel shares today.

A female cabin crew member on a place looks like she has a headache.

Image source: Getty Images

Why are ASX travel shares falling today?

Qantas shares are down 3.42%, while Flight Centre shares are 2.26% lower. Meanwhile, the Webjet share price is sliding 2.03% in late afternoon trading.

News emerged that Qantas cancelled 6.7% of its domestic flights and just 44% of flights landed on time, the Daily Mail reported. Meantime, Virgin Airlines, a Qantas rival not listed on the ASX, cancelled 14.7% of flights.

A Qantas spokesperson told the publication it was "a pretty challenging week" all round. She added:

We appreciate how frustrating flight cancellations and delays are for customers with severe weather in New South Wales and a spike in Covid cases for operating crew impacting airline schedules over the past week.

In a recent market update, Qantas revealed it would cut domestic capacity on flights in the 2023 financial year. However, the company is also rolling out new check-in and baggage kiosks in Sydney in a bid to speed up the check-in process.

Travel shares in Australia are following a similar fall in US airline stocks on Monday. The American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ: AAL) share price fell 3.87%, while Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE: DAL) slid 1.45% and United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: UAL) shares fell 3%.

Motley Fool contributor Monica O'Shea has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Delta Air Lines. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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