War Is Biggest Shock to Air Travel Since COVID

International air travel is taking its biggest hit since the early days of COVID, and this time the trouble is tied to war, not a virus. With US-led strikes on Iran and fighting spreading around the region, key Middle Eastern airspace over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, Bahrain, the UAE, and Qatar was almost deserted Monday, according to Flightradar24.

• Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha, normally three of the world's busiest transfer hubs, shut down passenger operations for more than 24 hours, halting the global connecting networks of Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways. Authorities say a "limited" number of flights from Dubai might resume late Monday to bring stranded passengers home.

• Flightradar24 says more than 4,000 flights a day across the region have been canceled, the BBC reports. Ian Petchenix, Flightradar 24's director of communications, says the disruption "will only increase the longer the crisis continues" and it "will have enormous repercussions for the industry."
• The crisis has rippled far beyond the region, leaving travelers from Bali to Frankfurt stuck as airlines scrub or reroute services to Europe and North America. Air India, British Airways, easyJet, and others have pulled flights or offered free date changes, the Guardian reports.

• While most passengers are battling long lines and scarce information at packed terminals, the ultra-wealthy are booking private jets out of Saudi Arabia and Oman, where flights are still operating; one broker quoted prices of up to $350,000 for a Riyadh-to-Europe trip. "Half of Dubai is booking," Alexander Graham, director of Luxe Jets, tells the Financial Times. The company has chartered an A320 to fly from Oman to Istanbul on Tuesday and it plans more flights later this week.
• Analysts say that while disruption is nothing new for the region, the simultaneous shutdown of all three Gulf hubs and extended closure of regional airspace is something the industry hasn't seen before.