EasyJet buys Thomas Cook airport slots

British no-frills airline EasyJet on Friday said it had bought UK take-off and landing slots that belonged to collapsed travel group Thomas Cook.

EasyJet has paid 36 million pounds (USD 46 million, 42 million euros) for 12 summer and eight winter slot pairs at London's Gatwick airport - and for seven slot pairs in total at Bristol airport in western England.

"Contractual terms have concluded and the slots have been awarded to EasyJet," the group said in a brief statement.

EasyJet said it would provide further details in the airline's full-year results statement on November 19.

Thomas Cook, whose demise in September sparked 22,000 job losses worldwide, had struggled against fierce online competition for some time and blamed Brexit uncertainty for a drop in bookings before its collapse.

Chinese conglomerate Fosun has snapped up the Thomas Cook brand for 11 million pounds, while British travel agent Hays Travel bought all 555 of the UK-wide Thomas Cook stores.