Iran War Threatens Global Travel Industry As Travelers Stranded

When the US and Israel attacked Iran on Saturday, Chinese medicine food therapist Zoe Gong was days away from boarding an Emirates flight from Paris to Shanghai via Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Gong, 30, told CNBC her flight plans were derailed as a result and she had to pay $1,600 to get to Shanghai, more than double her original ticket.

She is one of millions of travelers stranded this year by war and other conflicts from Iran to Mexico, problems that threaten global tourism worth an estimated $11.7 trillion to the world economy, according to the industry group World Travel and Tourism Council. This shows that people far from falling missiles, drone strikes and other geopolitical flashpoints are not immune to the ripple effects.

The US-Israel attack on Iran sparked massive aviation, travel and security crises.

More than a million people worldwide have been stranded by airspace closures that have grounded more than 20,000 flights since Saturday, according to aviation data firm Cerium. Some were stuck on cruise ships. Inquiries for more expensive “cancel for any reason” travel insurance policies increased 18-fold this week, said Chrissy Valdez, senior director of operations at Squaremouth, an online insurance marketplace.

Since Saturday, Iran has launched retaliatory attacks on the United Arab Emirates — home to Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international passenger traffic, according to Airports Council International — as well as Qatar, Jordan, Israel and Cyprus. The back-and-forth attacks have given airlines little help in repatriating passengers.

Days after the attack, the US State Department told civilians in much of the region to leave immediately, with few options. The department said it is organizing charter flights for U.S. citizens who want to return from Saudi Arabia, Israel, the UAE and Qatar.

“It’s turned out to be an aviation quagmire,” said Henry Harteveld, a former airline executive and founder of the travel consultancy Atmosphere Research Group.

Other sectors of the travel industry are also dealing with the impact of war. Rain fell near the ruins AkarFairmont The Palm Hotel in Dubai over the weekend. The company said four people were injured, but none were guests, visitors or staff. Meanwhile, the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel caught fire earlier this week after being hit by debris from an Iranian drone.

MSC Cruises’ more than 6,300-passenger MSC Eurybia ship is stranded in Dubai and the company is trying to get flights for affected guests, it said. “We are requesting priority for our guests from our partners,” the company said in a statement.

“To speed up repatriation, we are working on other options such as chartering flights from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, UAE, or Muscat, Oman, but the situation on board is “calm,” the cruise company said.

Earlier this week, MSC said it would cancel the rest of its sailings from Dubai for the winter. “We understand that this will be disappointing, but we are sure that the affected guests will understand this decision,” it said.

Aside from the Covid-19 health crisis that has halted most international travel, Harteveldt called this week “the most chaotic event we’ve seen since 9/11 when the US decided to close its airspace. We haven’t seen such a long-term and geographically widespread impact on travel.”

The Iran war is the most intense military conflict this year, but it is just one of a series of disruptions that threaten travel demand and profits for hotels, airlines and cruise companies, as well as local economies that rely heavily on travel, especially international tourists, who spend more than domestic visitors.

In three days in 2026, the US struck Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Celia Flores. The attack prompted the US to close airspace across the Caribbean, stranding travelers, many at luxury resorts and home rentals they had booked for vacations.

Later in February, flights were grounded in parts of Mexico, including the coastal resort cities of Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara, after violence erupted after the Mexican military killed a cartel leader.

Executives have already had to make costly changes: rescheduling or canceling sailings, offering flexible booking and refund policies, grounding flights and changing flight plans entirely, or discounting hotel rooms.

The cost of these collisions is still being calculated, including fuel, which is one of the biggest costs for cruise companies and airlines along with labor and is often passed on to customers, so pricier tickets and stays could be on the cards.

For example, Australian carrier Qantas told CNBC that a flight from Perth, Australia, to London now travels a route that requires a refueling stop in Singapore, although it still allows it to carry roughly 60 passengers.

Start with 2026 as travel executives often do: playfulness. Some airline executives, including the most profitable US carriers, Delta Air Lines And United AirlinesRecord earnings forecast this year.

The war and other events erupted as the travel industry leaned on premium options to attract affluent customers who accounted for a larger share of overall spending. Losing a base for more expensive tours could put those companies and local economies at an additional disadvantage.

In Mexico, for example, tourism accounts for 9% of the economy and international tourist arrivals rose 13.6% last year to 98.2 million people, who spent $35 billion, according to the country’s tourism ministry.

Now, airlines are withdrawing travel to Puerto Vallarta, at least from the United States. Delta cut routes to the city from April 3 through the end of the month, according to the Cranky Network Weekly newsletter, which covers the airline industry’s network changes. Alaska Airlines And Southwest Airlines It also cut service in March.

“Perhaps people forget about PVR (Puerto Vallarta International Airport) concerns now that headlines shift to the Middle East and bookings rebound, but we watch capacity changes as key indicators,” newsletter authors Brett Snyder and Courtney Miller said in the March 1 edition.

The latest problems come three months ahead of the FIFA World Cup, which will be hosted by cities in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Some hotels in Mexico are also starting to notice the change.

Victor Rajo, manager of Puerto Vallarta’s Rivera del Rio Hotel, told CNBC that bookings are down about 10% compared to last year.

“We’ve had some promotions given what’s happened,” he said, adding that it has reduced rates by between 10% and 20% ahead of the busy spring break and Holy Week period in the coming month.

He said the hotel was not close to the issues involving roadblocks and the booking was stable after that.

“It’s not like the beginning of an epidemic,” he said. “There is no comparison.”