Swine Flu Strikes Fear in Europe’s Aviation Industry

Europe is no longer safe from the Swine Flu. Spain finally confirmed the first case of the Swine Flu just the other day. Europe has now announced an emergency health ministers meeting to prepare for this new threat.

However, the European aviation industry is not doing very well in light of this new health threat. Fears of how this new flu will impact tourism has sent travel and airline shares tumbling down. Among the hardest in the travel industry to be hit was British Airways, which saw a fall over 12 percent at one point. TUI Travel also saw a drop of 7 percent as well.

Although Europe’s aviation industry may be in fear, the pharmaceutical groups are soaring thanks to a huge pick up in flu drug sales. This increase has come after the death toll in Mexico finally cleared past the 100 death mark. Other reports of the Swine Flu have now reached as far as New Zealand, Israel and Scotland.

Mexico, to help deal with the crisis, has been given an emergency loan from the World Bank of $205 million. The Mexican finance minister Augustin Carstens stated that the outbreak could very well have a very big impact on the country’s economy. However, he did note that it was still way too soon to see how big of an effect it might have.

Authorities around the world are now scrambling to do what they can to protect themselves against this new outbreak. The Swine Flu has already spread across the border to the United States where 20 cases have been confirmed. This has caused the release of 12 million doses of the anti viral drug in the United States to help stop the spread right away.