EMBATTLED Lancashire tour operator MyTravel today announced losses of more than £600million, but said it had secured its future until 2006.

The company, formerly known as Airtours, said it had a £1.3 billion deal in place with its banks, despite its "poor" performance for the first six months of the year.

News of the deal will come as a relief for the 600 people who work at MyTravel's offices at Helmshore and the Globe Centre at Accrington.

In a statement to shareholders today, the company blamed war in Iraq and uncertainty about the company's finances for the losses. Chief executive Peter McHugh said the company had made a pre-tax loss of £617 million for the six months up to March 31 compared with a loss of £168 million in the same period last year.

After a year of uncertainty, he said the group had reached agreement for its banking facilities to be extended until May 2006. "The stability that the extension of these facilities gives to MyTravel, its customers, staff and investors will enable us to focus fully on implementing our turnaround strategy for the business," he said.

"The results for the half year reflect the difficult trading conditions in the market, and the particular issues that MyTravel Group plc has faced throughout the period.

"Recent booking trends are generally encouraging, however we cannot yet predict whether this trend will continue or how the peak summer period will unfold.

"If current trends do continue, then I expect the summer performance to be better than last year. However, we do not expect to recover the operating losses suffered in the first half."