The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price was rangebound today after completing a turbulent flight path in FY22.
At the close on Tuesday, it finished at $17.63 apiece, a more than 28% decline from its 52-week closing high of $24.43 on 5 October 2021.
In broad market moves, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 55 basis points higher on the day at 6,648.
Flight Centre share price on a trip down south
Travel shares were punished across the entire spectrum of companies in FY22.
Investors were particularly hard in June 2022, driving the Flight Centre share price down from $20.67 to $17.20 in an almost vertical fashion.
Thankfully, a huge recovery after the company's FY21 results and annual report from August saw the share surge to its yearly highs.
These prior gains have helped the share retain an 11% gain in the past 12 months of trade.
Flight Centre shares also benefitted from a rebound in travel activity in 2021. This was bought on by the reopening of international travel borders and relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions.
Australians in particular were relieved to fly in and out of the country on lax terms for the first time since the restrictions began.
Investors certainly regained confidence too. However ongoing uncertainties around the virus, the geopolitical situation in Europe, and the market meltdown of 2022 have compressed the Flight Centre share price.
It now trades 45 basis points in the red this year to date, or 15% down in the past month.
Flight Centre is also Citi's worst ASX 200 travel buy at the moment. The broker outlined several headwinds it could face from international travel in a recent note.
