Airlines across the Middle East affected by Israel-Gaza War
Since October 7th, there has been a notable escalation of tension in the Middle East region, impacting various aspects. Among these is a decline in air travel within the region, leading to a downturn in travel sales according to The National.
During an annual meeting at the Arab Air Carriers Organisation on Oct 31st, airline executives addressed the ongoing war.
Samer Al Majali, chief executive of Royal Jordanian, said: “We are the closest country now to this recent event and we’re quite negatively affected by all that’s going on”.
Dealing with the operational challenges arising from the ongoing conflict, they are navigating through various routes to ensure safety and precaution. However, he said, “It’s quite a big dog-leg, costing us much more in terms of fuel. Fuel prices have gone up because of the crisis. And we’ve seen a major drop in tourism. Jordan relies very heavily on tourism and we’ve seen major reservations drop.”
READ: Israel-Gaza conflict will heavily impact Lebanon’s tourism industry
The World Bank has indicated that the ongoing conflict is causing a surge in oil prices, with the potential to reach $157 per barrel in the near future if an escalation leads to a significant disruption in crude supply in the Middle East.
Moreover, in a scenario similar to the Arab oil embargo of 1973, where there is a substantial disruption, global supply could decrease by 6 million to 8 million barrels per day. Which can result in a price increase within the range of $140 to $157 per barrel, as stated in the lender’s recent Commodity Markets Outlook.
Simultaneously, both Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc and Emirates have opted to halt flights to and from Tel Aviv, with Royal Air Maroc suspending services until December 31st and Emirates until November 14th, as indicated on their respective websites.
Throughout the current year, Morocco has endured significant consequences from an earthquake. However, Abdelhamid Addou, the chief executive of Royal Air Maroc, emphasized that while it took a couple of weeks to return to normalcy after the earthquake, the current Israel-Gaza war is different, and the recovery process will be more prolonged.
In contrast, Adel Al Redha, the chief operating officer of Emirates, remarked that while there was a minor impact primarily from the Far East, the majority of the network remains relatively stable.
He said, “while we don’t wish for any conflict, we are used to being able to adapt our operations and mitigate every risk that we’re facing by specific measures to protect our operations and the safety of our passengers.”
The National
