Airlines such as Lufthansa, easyJet and Ryanair have all pointed to robust summer bookings.

Now TUI says its bookings have jumped 13% compared with the same period last year.

Average prices for summer trips are up 5%.

Many European carriers are wary of potential strikes, particularly by air traffic controllers in France.

They fear delays akin to last summer, when much of the continent was impacted by travel disruptions.

TUI Chief Executive Sebastian Ebel told a media call that the firm has invested a 'double-digit million' amount to increase its resilience in the face of strikes, with more focus put on having standby aircraft.

He also said that TUI's numbers could have been better if the company hadn't had to implement such costly measures.

Over the latest quarter, the firm posted a narrower loss of about $266 million.

TUI shares were down around 3% by early afternoon.