France plane crash: Lufthansa and Airbus shares fall sharply

Shares in Lufthansa and Airbus fell away sharply after news emerged that a Germanwings plane had crashed in the French Alps.

The Airbus A320, which was being operated by Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings, was flying from Barcelona to Dusseldorf.

It was scheduled to arrive in the German city at 11:49am local time, but a distress signal was sent out at 10.45am.

French President Francois Hollande said it was unlikely any of the 148 people aboard the plane had survived the crash, which took place near Digne.

Lufthansa shares plummeted from a high of £10.36 at around 11am to £9.55 an hour later, a drop of 7.8%.

Airbus’ shares fell 4.29% from £44.70 to £42.78 between 11am and 12pm, before climbing back to £43.28.