The Swine Flu scare led some people to cancel their overseas travel plans, mostly fearful of travel in aircraft, but most people have got over their initial scare, travel agents have said.

"There were a couple of days when people panicked and they were cancelling flights, but bookings are picking up again and some people have actually rebooked,having realised they can also get swine flu in Malta," said Noel Farrugia, chief executive director of Britannia Tours.

He said the cancellations were mostly on flights to Spain, the UK and Catania, but the situation had since normalised.

"We have an aircraft going to Costa Brava today with 130 people," Mr Farrugia said.

Norman Hamilton, from Hamilton Travel, said people were mostly scared of travelling to the UK and Spain and some had tried to cancel their holidays, although in the end they stuck to their original plans. He argued that with swine flu present in Malta, it was as bad staying at home as going abroad.

Richard Magri, of Mondial Holidays, was of the same view. He said a number of people called asking for information or to cancel their flights.

"I would have thought that once there were cases of swine flu in Malta, people would feel more comfortable to go abroad because there was still a chance to get swine flu here," he said. He said the main inquiries were about Spain and the UK.

Mark Anastasi from Tristar Travel, said some people preferred not to travel to Spain.

Lourdes Grech, from Europa Tours, said the company saw a reduction in bookings even before last week, but this could be because of the financial crisis rather than swine flu.