Due to the war in the Middle East, flight routes are becoming longer: flights take an hour longer
The Israel-Hamas war and tensions between the Jewish State and Hezbollah militiamen on the border with Lebanon are forcing airlines to redesign routes to avoid flying over the area and cancel flights to other Middle Eastern countries as a result of the loss of reservations and the fear of violence… The Israel-Hamas war and tensions between the Jewish State and Hezbollah militiamen in the Middle East are forcing airlines to redesign routes to avoid flying over the area and cancel flights to other Middle Eastern countries due to the loss of reservations and the fear of violence against Westerners. This is particularly felt in Europe, where their continental airspace has been reduced by 20% due to Ukraine's invasion and the ban on overflights in Russian airspace. British Airways, Wizz Air from Rome, Austrian Airlines from Vienna, Ryanair from Budapest, and Royal Jordanian from Rome Fiumicino have all changed their routes, bypassing Israel and bypassing Jordan. The conflict between Israel and Hamas is causing a significant drop in bookings for tourist destinations such as Aqaba in Jordan, which overlooks the Red Sea. Despite this, easyJet has cancelled all routes with Europe for the winter period and the Paris Orly-Aqaba connection from sale, while Ita Airways has postponed its launch given the situation in the area.
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The Israel-Hamas war and tensions between the Jewish State and Hezbollah militiamen on the border with Lebanon are forcing airlines to redesign routes to avoid flying over the area and cancel flights to other Middle Eastern countries as a result of the loss of reservations and the fear of violence against Westerners. The impact is particularly felt in Europe, where airlines have seen their continental airspace reduced by 20% due to the invasion of Ukraine and have to maintain longer connections to Asia – up to three hours – due to the ban on overflights in Russian airspace.
The offices within airlines that assess operational risks on a daily basis have a lot to do these days, they explain Courier four executives from ‘traditional’ and low-cost companies who are aware of the discussions. For this reason, after canceling direct connections to Tel Aviv in recent days, they have also quietly updated routes to other locations, such as those in Jordan, avoiding completely – or almost completely – bypassing Israel.
Those at British Airways know something about it. For a few days, their Airbuses – which connect London Heathrow with Amman – once before Israel do not go straight towards Jordan, but make a right turn, fly over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt and then go straight back to the final destination. Travel time: 5 and a half hours. About an hour longer – with an associated increase in kerosene consumption and operating costs – than about ten days earlier and also than the ‘competing’ Royal Jordanian flight, which first passes over Lebanon, then Syria and then descends to Amman.
And yet the same Royal Jordanian from Rome Fiumicino took the same new route as the British, i.e. over the Sinai. As well as Wizz Air from Rome, Austrian Airlines from Vienna, Ryanair from Budapest. “At the moment, reaching Sinai is the only route considered safe, at high altitude,” the managers emphasize. “The other alternatives concern banned countries such as Syria or with an increasingly higher risk percentage such as Lebanon.”
The Sinai Peninsula itself, to tell the truth, has a “near” part, the northern one, due to the risk of terrorist activities, such as the one in which the Airbus A321 of the Russian airline Metrojet was shot down with a missile on October 31, 2015. (217 deaths). “Due to the dangerous situation, it is believed that the risk of operations and overflights of North Sinai Governorate below 25,000 feet (7,620 meters, ed) is HIGH,” the European Aviation Safety Agency warns in its bulletin.
But the violence between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah is causing a significant drop in bookings for tourist destinations such as Aqaba in Jordan, which overlooks the Red Sea. Over the weekend, easyJet canceled all routes with Europe for the winter period – at least until March 2024 – and the cheap Transavia, from the Air France-KLM group, also removed the Paris Orly-Aqaba connection from sale. Even Ita Airways, which has been working on launching connections to Beirut and Amman for some time, has decided to postpone the launch given the situation in the area.
The planes are elsewhere But airlines from the Middle East are also suffering from this. While Israelis El Al, Arkia and Israir actually only transport compatriots to Tel Aviv, Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines has announced that most of its fleet will be temporarily moved to more ‘safer’ areas such as Cyprus, Turkey, Oman and Qatar. This will also lead to significant disconnects. Company chairman Mohammed Al-Hout said only eight of the 22 planes will remain at the Beirut base. According to data provided to Courier Ch-Aviation owns 10 of Middle East Airlines’ 22 aircraft, the rest are leased from foreign companies.
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