Air Travel to Middle East Plummets by 26% Amid Israel–Gaza Conflict

By IndraStra Global News Team

Cover Image Attribute: Image by 穿着拖鞋一路小跑 from Pixabay.

Recent data reveals a significant decline in air travel to the Middle East, with a 26% drop since the onset of the Israel–Gaza conflict. According to statistics from ForwardKeys, the number of tickets to the region has dwindled from being 13% above pre-pandemic levels to 13% below in the weeks preceding and following the outbreak of hostilities.
Global air travel has also been impacted, experiencing a decrease from 15% below pre-pandemic levels in the three weeks before the conflict to 20% below in the three weeks after, as reported by ForwardKeys.
Olivier Ponti, Vice President of Insights at ForwardKeys, attributed the decline to the "catastrophic, heartbreaking human tragedy" witnessed on TV screens daily, suggesting that this has not only deterred travel to the conflict zone but has also shaken consumer confidence in travel worldwide.
As of October 6, global air travel projections for the fourth quarter of 2023 indicated a rebound to 95% of 2019 levels. However, as of October 27, these outlooks have regressed to 88%, signaling a downturn. The Middle East, in particular, faces a more substantial setback, with the outlook falling back 16% to 110%, down from 126% before the conflict began.
The impact on air travel to other regions is less severe but still evident. Travel to Europe, for instance, was down 18% compared to pre-pandemic levels before the conflict and further decreased to 21% below in the three weeks after. Similarly, travel to the Americas decreased from 3% to 9%, while Africa was the only region to experience an increase, rising from 17% below pre-pandemic levels to 15% below post-conflict.

Middle Eastern Travel Disruptions

The suspension of flights to Israel by several airlines, including Dubai's Emirates, has led to a drastic decline in air travel, plummeting to 178% below pre-pandemic levels. Prior to October 7, flights were already 23% below that level.
Saudi Arabia, focusing on tourism as part of its diversification plans, witnessed a decrease in flights from 75% above pre-pandemic levels to 8% above since the conflict began. Jordan saw a substantial drop, with tickets now 61% below pre-pandemic levels compared to 7% below before the war, followed by Lebanon, which fell from 28% to 73%.
Egypt, Turkey, and the UAE also experienced declines, with tickets dropping to 25% below, 17% below, and 7% below, respectively, from previous levels of 10% above, 10% below, and 1% above.

Impact on Departing Flights

The conflict has also affected air travel from Middle Eastern destinations. Departing tickets from the region fell from 3% below pre-pandemic levels to 12% below. In other parts of the world, departing tickets fell by 10% from the Americas and by 2% from Europe, Asia Pacific, and Africa.
These shifts in air travel patterns reflect the broader implications of the Israel–Gaza conflict on global mobility as people reassess their travel plans in response to the ongoing hostilities.

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