New Air Travel Data Highlights Negative Impact of Israel-Hamas War

Image: Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo Credit: stellalevi/E+)
Image: Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo Credit: stellalevi/E+)
Donald Wood
by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:00 AM ET, Fri November 10, 2023

New data revealed the attack by Hamas on Israel in October has not only impacted tourism in the Middle East, but also hurt the global travel industry, which has slowed by five percentage points since the attacks.

According to travel analytics firm ForwardKeys, outbound travel flight bookings from Middle Eastern countries fell by nine percent since October, while air service from the Americas slowed by 10 percent.

Data also found that the Asia Pacific, European and African regions each slowed by two percent.

“This war is a catastrophic, heartbreaking, human tragedy that we are all seeing daily on our TV screens,” ForwardKeys VP Insights Olivier Ponti said. “That is bound to put people off travelling to the region, but it has also dented consumer confidence in travelling elsewhere too.”

“As of October 6, bookings showed that global air travel in the last quarter of the year, Q4, would reach 95% of its 2019 level, but, as of 27th October, the outlook has fallen back by 7 p.p. and stands at 88%,” Ponti continued. “The equivalent change in outlook for the Middle East is much more sobering, falling back 16 p.p. to 110%, from 126%, before the war began.”

From a destination perspective, the growth in bookings to all regions has slowed down, except for Africa, which has continued to recover toward 2019 levels. Flight bookings to the Americas are down six percent, to Europe down three percent, to Asia Pacific down one percent and to the Middle East down 26 percent.

Statistically, Israel has suffered the worst, with many airlines canceling all flights to the region, with bookings declining by 155 percent. Saudi Arabia is down 67 percent, Jordan is down 54 percent, Lebanon is down 45 percent and Egypt is down 35 percent. 


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