Dardanup, Australia. Travellers are reporting higher costs and major delays as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran disrupts Middle East airspace and global flight routes. The conflict has led to widespread cancellations, reroutings and schedule changes affecting millions.
Australian family faces higher costs on Europe trip
Accountant Natasha Earle said her family’s five-week trip to Europe, booked last May on Emirates, has been upended by the conflict and is expected to cost about A$10,000 ($7,000) more as they reroute to avoid disruptions from drone and missile fire in the Middle East.
The trip includes planned stops in London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna and Rome. Earle said the family has spent tens of thousands of dollars on the holiday and expects to eventually recover at least half of that amount from Emirates. She is due to fly at the end of this month amid what she described as the biggest disruption to global travel since the pandemic.
Gulf routes affected as aircraft face airspace disruptions
With the Gulf serving as a global crossroads for commercial aviation, the Iran conflict is showing how quickly disruption in a single region can affect travel worldwide, pushing up prices, squeezing capacity and disrupting holiday plans.
Drone and missile fire have regularly left aircraft circling near Dubai as the war enters its third week, heavily affecting Middle East tourism, estimated at about $367 billion annually.
Major carriers link Europe with Australia and the Pacific
Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways normally fly more than half of all passengers between Europe and Australia, New Zealand and nearby Pacific Islands, according to Cirium data.
The war has led to the closure of much of the Middle East’s airspace due to the risk of missiles and drones, resulting in tens of thousands of flight cancellations, reroutings and schedule changes worldwide.
Traveller reroutes via Saudi Arabia after cancellation
Jacob Brown, a 34-year-old New Zealander living in Doha, said he drove through the desert of neighbouring Saudi Arabia to Riyadh to catch a plane to London after his Qatar Airways flight from Doha to New Zealand was cancelled. He had been due to serve as best man at a wedding.
Brown said a journey that should have taken less than 24 hours took several days because of closed airspace, additional flight disruption, delays and lost baggage. He said flying out of Riyadh was nerve-wracking given that there had been missile interceptions south of the capital earlier that morning.
How has the Middle East airspace disruption affected your travel plans?
