Easter holidaymakers switching from Dubai to Spain as flights fill up
Easter holidaymakers are rebooking Easter trips away from Dubai due to the war in neighbouring Iran. Travel firms told the BBC that this is causing a spike in demand for “reassuring” destinations.
There is mass disruption to passenger flights across the Middle East and warnings not to travel to large parts of the region or the United Arab Emirates. This has sparked a sharp slowdown in holiday bookings there, as well as countries close to Iran, such as Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt. Bookings are up in Portugal, Italy and Spain as well as the Caribbean, Mauritius and the US as some airports report flights filling up faster than last year. On Tuesday, BA suspended some Middle East routes until June, “due to the continuing uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and airspace instability”. The airline said it had temporarily cancelled flights to Dubai, Bahrain, Tel Aviv and Amman in Jordan up to and including 31 May.
Neil Swanson, managing director of TUI UK and Ireland, said that British travellers are looking for “reassuring alternatives to avoid travel through the Middle East”. He added that they are switching to “familiar, easy-to-reach” destinations, with Spain, Portugal, Greece and Cape Verde seeing higher demand. Swanson said there was also particularly strong demand for flights to the Caribbean, especially the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, and also Phuket, in Thailand, and India’s Goa. Bookings to Portugal had risen by 42% over the two weeks to 13 March, according to Thomas Cook. This was the biggest upward shift out of the destinations it covers, followed by the Balearic Islands (40%) and the Canary Islands (16%). Kuoni said over the last week, compared to last year, bookings were up a fifth for the Caribbean and 18% for Africa. They were up 16% for Europe, with a 55%
Quick Summary
Travel firms are reporting that British holidaymakers are changing their Easter travel plans. Due to instability in the Middle East, travelers are seeking alternative destinations - but why is this causing headaches for some?
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