And bookings to destinations around the Middle East such as Israel, Turkey and Egypt “have stopped”. Airtours has been offering discounts of up to 40 per cent for some winter holidays just to fill the planes.A First Choice-style redundancy programme looks inevitable. “We have lost 10 per cent of our workforce in the last 12 months, which means about 3,000 jobs [including 600 to 700 in the UK],” he says “And we will have to have more. We have written to all staff in the UK, Scandinavia, Germany and the US and we are going through a period of consultation.”About 2,000 jobs are likely to go, including 850 in the US and 300 to 400 in the UK, he says. “That is on the basis that it’s bad until December and the demand kicks up again in January.

If it doesn’t we’ll have to review things again.”Other cutbacks include £100m of capital expenditure put on hold. “If the hotels haven’t had a lick of paint then that’s it, they’ll have to go without one. We are not going to go out and spend money now.”A “big bang” launch of a new £100m e-commerce portal under the Mytravelco name has also been pulled. It was planned for 27 September.It has all been a baptism of fire for the 41-year-old Mr Byrne, who was only appointed chief executive last November, after joining Airtours in 1993 from Granada.

The shares have suffered a vertiginous fall as overseas acquisitions in Germany and Scandinavia went pear–shaped last year.Despite the flurry of profits warnings, Mr Byrne’s profile has remained close to zero. The limelight is still dominated by the Airtours founder and executive chairman David Crossland Doesn’t this get on his nerves? “Not at all,” he says. “Listen, he built-up a company that was worth £2bn at one point But this is a young man’s business. You don’t see many old tour operators because it is so exhausting. David [now 55] will some day want to move on and he needs someone to run this business.”The answer seems typical of Mr Byrne, who is young, forthright and not lacking in self-confidence. He speaks quickly and at length, occasionally running a hand through his generously proportioned hairstyle, which could be described as a “1980’s flick”.Mr Crossland spends his time examining new opportunities overseas and negotiating with governments, while as chief executive Mr Byrne runs the business day to day. He denies that as executive chairman, the workaholic Mr Crossland still calls the shots “He has to have the ability to have the last word …