Thomas Cook, Europe’s second biggest tour operator, has warned that the political unrest in Egypt and Tunisia will dent its second-quarter profits by an estimated £20m.

The British tour operator said that while the UK government’s travel advice on Tunisia had improved, restrictions to Egypt remained in place for all but the Red Sea resorts.

The Foreign Office has advised against all non-essential travel to the cities of Luxor, where Thomas Cook operates programmes, as well as Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez.

Thomas Cook, which usually flies around a million passengers to Egypt each year, has continued taking British holidaymakers to Red Sea resorts including Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada but has cancelled flights into Luxor.

Thomas Cook said it was looking to mitigate the financial impact by switching its travel programme to other destinations.

The uprising in Tunisia that led to the ousting of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January forced 3,000 British citizens to return home.

Manny Fontenla-Novoa, group chief executive of Thomas Cook, said: “The situation in Tunisia and Egypt is fast-moving and our principal concern is for the well-being and safety of our customers.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely and contingency plans have been implemented to redirect our holiday programme to other destinations and help mitigate the financial impact.”

Last week its rival TUI Travel said that the unrest in Egypt and Tunisia could erode its profits by £30m.