Travel Stocks Tumble As U.S.-Iran War Sparks Worst Disruption Since Pandemic | EUROtoday

LONDON/SYDNEY/HONG KONG, March 2 (Reuters) – Travel shares tumbled on Monday as escalating battle between the U.S., Israel and Iran disrupted flights worldwide, closed key Middle Eastern hubs and despatched oil costs surging, with analysts warning of weeks of disruption forward.

Data confirmed no less than 4,000 flights had been cancelled all over the world within the final three days.

Dubai, the world’s busiest worldwide hub, and Doha remained shut for a 3rd day, leaving tens of 1000’s of passengers stranded as aviation confronted its largest take a look at because the COVID pandemic. Jordan on Monday grew to become the most recent nation within the area to partially shut its airspace.

Oil costs jumped as a lot as 13% to their highest since January 2025 as Iran and Israel stepped up assaults, elevating the prospect of upper gasoline prices for airways.

U.S. airline shares dropped when markets opened on Monday, with American Airlines AAL.O and United Airlines UAL.O down greater than 6%.

The STOXX Asia/Pacific 600 Travel & Leisure .SXP1CGS and the STOXX Europe Travel & Leisure .SXTP indexes, which embody main airways, shed a mixed $11.9 billion in market worth, in accordance with Reuters’ calculations.

Aviation analytics agency Cirium mentioned no less than 1,560 flights had been cancelled on Monday, which means greater than 4,000 flights have been cancelled since Saturday. That determine is probably going greater given incomplete information assortment, Cirium added.

Shares in TUI TUI1n.DE, Europe’s largest journey firm, had been down 9.6% at 1302 GMT, whereas Lufthansa LHAG.DE was down 5.7% and British Airways-owner IAG ICAG.Lslid 5.4%. Hotelier Accor ACCP.PA and cruise firm Carnival additionally fell sharply.

“Every airline is full and every flight is full because people are just having to take what they can,” mentioned Paul Charles, head of journey consultancy PC Agency, who was himself stranded overseas. Charles mentioned plane and crew had been scattered all over the world within the improper locations in a “nightmare scenario.”

Analysts highlighted rising gasoline prices, cancellations and rerouting bills as the principle strain factors for airways, regardless of hedging. JPMorgan, Goodbody and Citi pointed to Wizz Air WIZZ.L as essentially the most uncovered European service due to its massive presence in Israel. Its shares had been down 7% on Monday.

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad on Monday resumed some flights, whereas Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport mentioned it might reopen to a restricted extent.

Even earlier than the battle, the trade was below pressure as cost-conscious journeylers prevented dear holidays. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings NCLH.Non Monday forecast weaker-than-expected 2026 income.

Many Middle Eastern carriers continued to cancel flights. Flydubai suspended all flights to and from Dubai till 3 p.m. (1100 GMT) on Tuesday.

Asian airline shares had been additionally hit, together with Japan’s ANA Holdings 9202.T, Air China 0753.HK601111.SS, China Eastern Airlines 600115.SS and Malaysia’s AirAsia X AIRX.KL, which all fell no less than 4%. Cathay Pacific 0293.HK cancelled all flights to the Middle East, together with to Dubai and Riyadh, and waived rebooking charges.

Singapore Airlines cancelled flights to and from Dubai by way of March 7, whereas Japan Airlines suspended Tokyo-Doha companies.

Singapore-based impartial aviation analyst Brendan Sobie mentioned Indian carriers had been significantly uncovered as a result of heavy Middle Eastern schedules serving migrant employees and a ban on utilizing Pakistan’s airspace on flights to and from Europe.

Air India cancelled flights between India and Zurich, Copenhagen, Birmingham, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar and mentioned companies to New York and Newark would refuel in Rome.

Data supplier VariFlight mentioned mainland Chinese airways had cancelled 26.5% of flights to and from the Middle East from March 2 to March 8, pointing to “sharp near-term disruption” however a wait-and-see stance on potential longer-term schedule modifications.

The ripple results have hit journeyers worldwide. Dubai was the world’s busiest worldwide airport in 2024 with 92 million passengers, in accordance with Airports Council International, forward of London’s Heathrow by 13 million. Doha ranked tenth.

Lufthansa cancelled passenger flights out and in of the UAE, however sought to fly an Airbus jet out of Dubai to Munich with out passengers.

James Halstead, managing companion at Aviation Strategy, mentioned he was optimistic the influence on the sector wouldn’t be long-term and that journey volumes had been unlikely to lower considerably all over the world.

Qatar Airways passengers in Sydney advised Reuters they scrambled to rearrange journey with little data. Ascanio Giorgetti, 16, and his mom Alessandra Giorgetti from Italy discovered their flight to Milan by way of Doha cancelled. They secured an alternate route dwelling by way of Los Angeles on one other airline.

“We have no information at all, no answer on the phone from Qatar (Airways),” she mentioned, including the tickets had value 4,000 euros ($4,708).

Jenni and Doug Stewart, each 78, had been flying from Sydney to Scotland by way of Doha when their flight turned again to Melbourne, earlier than they then flew to Sydney. “We were told the airspace had closed,” Jenni mentioned. “It was chaotic in Melbourne, hundreds of people looking for even the vaguest of information,” Doug mentioned.

(Reporting by Byron Kaye and Hollie Adams in Sydney, Shivangi Lahiri and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru, Joanna Plucinska and Samuel Indyk in London, Tim Hepher in Paris, Federico Maccioni in Dubai, Alessandro Parodi in Gdansk, Danilo Masoni in Milan, Ben Blanchard in Taipei, Julie Zhu in Hong Kong, Samuel Shen in Shanghai, David Dolan and Maki Shiraki in Tokyo, Jun Yuan Yong in Singapore and Juarawee Kittsilpa in Malaysia; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree and Joanna Plucinska; Editing by Jamie Freed, Mark Potter and Susan Fenton)