Flying despite the crisis: Not all countries and societies are affected.Image: Getty Images
The Iran crisis is putting a stop to many travel plans. This is what you need to know now.
March 24, 2026, 05:01March 24, 2026, 05:01
Spring break is coming up, summer holidays need to be booked. But the Iran crisis is causing uncertainty: Which countries are still safe? And what about vacations that have already been booked? The most important questions and answers.
Can I rebook my trip?
The tour operator Tui currently does not offer trips to countries with a travel warning from the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA). This affects the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait and Oman with travel starting by April 7th. Affected guests could rebook at the current price free of charge or cancel free of charge. There are similar rules at the organizer Dertour, which is currently recording a “significantly increased volume of inquiries” from customers.
Demand usually shifts to other travel destinations, says Tui spokeswoman Sonja Ptassek – currently, for example, to the Canary Islands or the Caribbean. Others would postpone their already planned vacations in the Gulf region until the fall. Tui also sees an increase in package holidays because they offer additional insurance. Classic Mediterranean destinations such as Greece and Spain are particularly in demand. At its competitor Dertour, which operates the Kuoni and Hotelplan travel agencies in this country, Spain, Italy and France as well as the Canary Islands are very popular, alongside more distant destinations such as the Caribbean or Mauritius. When traveling to Asia, many would stick to their plans, but would increasingly choose alternative routes or direct connections.
What is in demand right now?
The comparison portal Skyscanner has evaluated the search queries from Switzerland for the upcoming Easter holidays. Unsurprisingly, there are no destinations in the Middle East in the top 10 destinations. Barcelona, Amsterdam, London, Istanbul, Lisbon, Malaga, Madrid, Marrakech and Naples are currently very popular.
Why can’t airlines just fly new routes?
In order to be able to add new routes, three requirements must be met.
Firstly, both airports require time windows for take-off and landing, so-called slots. These must be applied for with the respective authorities with a certain lead time. At busy airports, these are not always available – or only at inconvenient times, which has a negative impact on demand.
Secondly, air transport agreements regulate how many flights can be operated between two countries and which locations can be flown to. Switzerland has concluded an agreement with the EU that provides for free access. More complicated contracts were negotiated with other countries: Swiss airlines, for example, are only allowed to serve three cities in China. If these agreements are exhausted, they would have to be renegotiated by politicians – a lengthy process.
Thirdly, putting a new route into operation requires a lot of preparation: flight and deployment plans are required, new routes must be advertised and contracts must be concluded with local service providers, for example for refueling. It is therefore almost impossible to launch a new long-haul route within a few weeks. Reinforcement flights on existing routes are easier to implement.
Where can you go on vacation without any problems?
Airlines are used to reacting to crises. Apart from flights to the crisis region, they continue to offer almost all direct flights, including to Asia. In some cases, however, detours have to be flown, which affects the flight duration and the price. Swiss flies from Tokyo to Zurich, for example, sometimes over the North Pole. Flights within Europe, to North and South America or Africa will take place as usual.
Other means of transport such as the railway are not affected by the crisis anyway. The SBB is significantly expanding its international offering. In summer there is a direct train from Zurich to Rimini on the Italian Adriatic, and there are also more direct trains to Germany. This year, for example, ICE trains are running from Valais to Cologne and Hamburg for the first time.
The Safe Airspace portal, which specializes in early warnings, provides an assessment of the security situation in all countries on its risk map. After the attacks on targets in Iran, Israel was raised to risk level 1 (red). Or in other words: Airlines “shouldn’t fly” there.
Who benefits from chaos?
In recent years, the Gulf airlines have been among the winners of the crisis: They did not see themselves bound by Russia sanctions and in some cases significantly expanded their business with the country. On flights to the US West Coast, for example, they benefited from being able to continue to use Russian airspace – just like Chinese airlines on their flights to Europe. This often enables shorter routes and cheaper operations compared to European companies.
European airlines, such as those of the Lufthansa Group, which also includes Swiss and Edelweiss, could now benefit from the crisis in the Gulf airlines. Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr recently reported a significant increase in bookings for direct flights to Asia. Because the alternatives – i.e. flights with Gulf airlines with a change in Dubai or Abu Dhabi – are no longer available, he was also able to increase the prices. The group has launched various additional flights to Asia. Swiss is also flying to India more frequently – initially for a week.
Because of the Iran crisis, many flights have to be canceled or rerouted.Image: KEYSTONE
How permanent these effects are remains to be seen. Aviation expert Heinrich Grossbongardt says to “Spiegel”that Lufthansa will benefit greatly if the crisis lasts longer. This is also because the image of the Gulf states as safe countries has cracked.
Which are the most popular flight destinations?
Long-haul destinations make up the smaller portion of passenger numbers at most airports. Flights within Europe are booked significantly more frequently. At Zurich Airport last year, flights to London, Berlin and Istanbul were the ones with the highest volume. Nothing seems to have changed.
New York, Dubai and Bangkok topped the Zurich long-haul hit list in 2025. While the market for Dubai has almost completely collapsed at the moment, trips to the US metropolis and Thailand are likely to continue to be in high demand.
This summer, too, the long-haul offer from Switzerland to no other country is as large as that to the USA. Swiss, Edelweiss, American Airlines, Delta and United sometimes operate over 20 flights per day from Switzerland to the United States – Donald Trump or not.
Is flying now more expensive? Or cheaper?
Tends to be more expensive. Airlines sounded the alarm about rising jet fuel prices and warned of hundreds of millions of dollars in additional costs. Delta and American Airlines alone reported additional costs of around $400 million each in the first quarter.
This will have consequences, as fuel is the second largest item of expenditure in the industry after personnel costs. The consequences are likely to be price increases, as Air France has already announced.
Not all airlines are hit equally by the price shocks. According to aviation expert Heinrich Grossbongardt, part of Lufthansa’s kerosene needs is secured at lower prices for the next few months. The group is therefore better prepared than the competition.
Lufthansa, which also includes the Swiss airline Swiss, could be one of the winners of the crisis.Image: Imago
Is there a risk of further trouble?
Yes. The airlines could cut the flight schedule. According to a Swedish business newspaper, the Scandinavian airline SAS has already announced 1,000 flight cancellations for April due to the “strong and sudden increase” in fuel prices after the first cancellations in March.
Kerosene has not only become more expensive, but is also in danger of becoming scarce. That’s why airlines are currently developing contingency plans to respond to possible kerosene shortages, such as “Financial Times” reported. These could become apparent in the coming weeks. (aargauerzeitung.ch)