As of Monday morning, March 2ndImage: screenshot flightradar24.com
Several thousand Swiss are currently in the United Arab Emirates. The outbreak of war in Iran has consequences for them and Swiss companies like Swiss and MSC.
Mar 2, 2026, 11:18 amMar 2, 2026, 11:36 am
The Iran war has major consequences for the global tourism industry. As Bank Vontobel writes with reference to aviation experts, around 3,000 flights were canceled in the region over the weekend. Several countries such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have at least partially closed their airspace. Among other things, an A380 aircraft from Emirates and an A350 aircraft from Qatar are currently grounded at Zurich Airport.
Since Sunday afternoon, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs has advised against all tourist and non-urgent trips to the Gulf states.
Swiss has stopped all of its flights to the Israeli metropolis of Tel Aviv until next Saturday. 14 flights are affected. The Lufthansa subsidiary will not be flying to Dubai until and including Wednesday, as it announced on Sunday. Affected passengers could rebook to a later travel date free of charge or, alternatively, would receive a full refund of the ticket price, the airline writes.
This is what the flight radar looked like a week ago, on Monday, February 23rd.
More cancellations could follow
As Swiss emphasized to the media, the airline is monitoring the situation closely, continuously evaluating all available information and is in contact with the authorities in Switzerland and locally. In other words, it is quite possible that the flight cancellations will be extended depending on how the war develops.
For travelers who are currently stuck in Dubai and cannot fly home, Swiss will cover the costs of necessary hotel accommodation, meals, taxi rides and any other support services, a spokeswoman said “20 minutes” says. If the airline does not pay, the travel insurance will cover hotel costs as well as costs for rebooking or alternative flight routes, according to TCS. The insurance also covers medical costs for hospital stays and injuries that were indirectly caused by the crisis, such as panic attacks.
The United Arab Emirates also announced that it would also cover the accommodation costs of stranded tourists. According to information from Sunday afternoon, around 20,000 local passengers were affected by the flight cancellations.
Kerosene price is likely to rise
On Sunday, when asked by the EDA, it was said that almost 2,300 people who were staying in the United Arab Emirates were registered on the federal travel app Travel Admin. Around 5,200 people are registered in the Swiss Abroad Register.
The FDFA had “no knowledge of any injured or killed Swiss nationals” on Sunday. The EDA helpline has processed over 1,000 inquiries since the events broke out. The capacities of the helpline have been increased, but due to the extraordinary situation there may still be waiting times.
The Geneva-based cruise company MSC Cruises is also affected. An upcoming cruise trip had to be canceled. The MSC Euribia was scheduled to set sail from Doha, Qatar, on Sunday. But for security reasons it remained in the port of Dubai.
“In addition to the direct impact on sales in the region and passenger numbers, there is a risk that canceled and rerouted flights will impact global tourism flows,” writes Vontobel analyst Manuel Lang in a comment on Monday morning. Because: Dubai, Oman and Qatar have invested massively in aviation and local tourism in recent years and expanded their airports into international hubs. Many passengers from Switzerland also fly to the desert states on vacation or use the airports for connecting flights.
The expected rise in oil prices will sooner or later also affect ticket prices. Because the airlines will have to pay more for their kerosene. The Vontobel analyst expects a shift in tourism flows: “Rerouting traffic to Europe could have a positive impact on Swiss companies.” (aargauerzeitung.ch)