Why Airline Stocks Are Tumbling Today
A new COVID-19 variant discovered in South Africa has markets rattled, and airline stocks are selling off more than most. Shares of Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), American Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ: AAL), United Airlines Holdings (NASDAQ: UAL), JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU), Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ: HA), and Spirit Airlines (NYSE: SAVE) all traded down by as much as 10% in Friday's abbreviated market session.
Airline stocks endured a miserable 2020 as the pandemic brought global air travel to a virtual halt. There's been a gradual recovery in 2021 thanks to the arrival of effective COVID-19 vaccines, but the airlines remain in a perilous state. The industry is still struggling to regain profitability, and most carriers are now saddled with significant amounts of new debt that they took on to carry them through the worst of the slowdown.
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Source Fool.com
