The Tourism Economics company stated that the war could lead to a drop in arrivals to the Middle East this year by 11 to 27 percent and to a reduction in spending by visitors in the region this year by 34 to 56 billion dollars (717 billion to 1.18 trillion crowns).
Air France, for example, announced on Tuesday that it had suspended flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh until Thursday due to security risks. “The situation is far beyond anything we’ve seen in the Middle East so far,” said Matt Borie of aviation risk management company Osprey.
A number of major airports in the Persian Gulf region remain closed for the fourth day, including the airport in Dubai, which usually handles over 1,000 flights a day, writes Reuters. Airlines are grappling with a sharp increase in fuel prices and passengers have been scrambling to find flights or alternative routes from the Middle East. The paralysis of air transport in the region also led to a significant drop in airline share prices.
On Monday, the first civilian flights from the United Arab Emirates were handled since the closure of the airspace on Saturday. According to Henry Harteveldt from the research company Atmosphere Research Group, the airlines probably carry out these evacuation flights with government support. “Airlines will not resume normal operations until they are fully convinced that the risk of an attack on aircraft is zero or almost zero,” said Harteveldt.
Governments of countries from all over the world are trying to get their citizens who are stuck abroad as a result of the conflict back home. Italian tourist Ambra Chessa, who was in Dubai, told Reuters that she ended up boarding an unscheduled charter flight home. “As soon as I arrived at the airport, they told me: ‘Get on board right away, you’re leaving in an hour,'” she said.
German visitor to Dubai Kirill Lechleide decided to stay. According to him, the loud bangs of rockets and drones captured overhead were terrifying, but due to security concerns, he ruled out an attempt to move by land through neighboring Oman. “The safest place is the hotel,” he said.
The first plane carrying tourists from the Middle East landed in Prague on Tuesday after 02:00 a.m. since the beginning of the American attack on Iran. The machine of the company Smartwings with a capacity of approximately 200 people transported passengers from the airport in Muscat, Oman. According to the Drozd voluntary registration system administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are about 6,700 Czechs in the threatened region. Most of them are in Dubai.
The German Foreign Ministry stated that around 30,000 German tourists were stranded in the Middle East. The German government plans to send planes to Oman and Saudi Arabia to evacuate the sick, children and pregnant women. At the same time, it cooperates with airlines to help other tourists.
