Following the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran, airspace over Jordan, Iran, Iraq, and Israel has been closed, causing hundreds of cancellations and diversions to commercial aviation over the Middle East, meaning thousands of passenger journeys have been disrupted.
In Israel, Ben Gurion Airport is closed pending further notice and big airlines including Air France, British Airways, Delta, easyJet, Emirates, Lufthansa, and United have once again paused flights to the region.
Governments around the world are issuing and updating travel advisories. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has warned against all travel to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Israel and Iran, pointing out that the “Ongoing hostilities in the region and between Israel and Iran could escalate quickly and pose security risks for the wider region.”
As a result, travellers to a vast array of countries are advised to exercise greater caution and vigilance. These destinations include Algeria, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and Qatar.
Exceptions to the no-fly zone include El Al, which is reportedly offering repatriation flights to Israelis stranded abroad. To benefit from El Al’s assistance, customers need to be in a destination that is recognised as affected and sign up to the recovery flight scheme.
A range of other nations are doing the opposite and evacuating their citizens from Israel. That includes the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, and Poland, which are all reportedly busing their nationals out of Israel by land to Jordan, and then flying them home. Euronews reports that Cyprus is also liaising with officials over requests to assist Portuguese and Slovakian citizens, according to its Prime Minister.
ℹ️ We are sharing information that the Israeli Ministry of Tourism is offering informational and coordination support to foreign tourists who are currently in Israel and wish to leave the country. To receive information from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, you may voluntarily… pic.twitter.com/saj7IOgEVl
— Latvian MFA 🇱🇻 | #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 (@Latvian_MFA) June 18, 2025
Passengers should be aware that due to the uncertain nature of the geopolitical tension, cancelled flights are unlikely to be replaced by similar alternatives. What’s more, the disruption is beyond airlines’ control, so unless the departure has been cancelled when less than 14 days away, compensation is unlikely to be forthcoming. Most people’s options are limited to choosing different destinations altogether or going for a refund.
When it comes to insurance, travellers who head for destinations despite authorities’ travel warnings may find they have triggered cancellations to their travel cover. However, those who were already booked when the advisory level changed and have signed up for comprehensive travel insurance should find they are covered for losses and for any additional accommodation required. Policy details may vary.
Due to the chaos in the skies that has been experienced amid the post-COVID-19 travel boom, an increasing number of travellers are choosing “parametric” travel insurance, The Independent reports. Such policies pay out automatically when a flight is cancelled, removing the hassle of making a claim.
Alongside an increase in insurance purchases in general, the preference for generous cover tallies with Travel and Tour World (TTW) reporting of industry data pointing to “a noticeable shift towards premium insurance products offering robust coverage, including ‘Cancel For Any Reason’ (CFAR) clauses.” Purchases of CFAR policies are up 34%, according to Squaremouth figures.
