Kazia Kantor is stepping down after having overseen a vital refinancing deal earlier in the year.

She will be replaced temporarily by turnaround specialist John Darlington, who has previously worked on projects such as the Millennium Dome.

At one stage on Friday MyTravel's shares were down 13%, but they recovered to close down 1.5p, or 5.6%, at 25.5p.

Surprise move

MyTravel - which was formerly called Airtours - plunged into trouble last year after issuing three profit warnings and uncovering a black hole in its accounts.

But in June this year it struck a �1.3bn financing deal which it is hoped will give it time to restructure.

"With our refinancing in place, Kazia is able to relinquish her post," said chief executive Peter McHugh.

"I am delighted that in John Darlington we have someone who has the skills and experience to serve as interim chief financial officer in our turnaround phase."

But analysts said the departure of Ms Kantor was a surprise.

"It's not very helpful, and the replacement is temporary as well," the Reuters news agency reported one analyst, who declined to be named, as saying.