Easter holidaymakers cancel trips to Dubai amid Iran conflict: Brit tourists rebook getaways to western Europe as demand soars for Portugal, Italy, Spain and Caribbean

By MARK DUELL, DEPUTY CHIEF REPORTER (DIGITAL)

Published: | Updated:

British tourists are rebooking Easter holidays away from Dubai and countries near the Middle East amid increased demand for trips to western Europe, travel firms say.

Demand has been dropping from UK holidaymakers for getaways to the likes of Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28.

But bookings are up for Portugal, Italy and Spain as well as longer-haul trips to the US, Cape Verde, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Mauritius, Thailand and India.

Trips to Greece over the coming weeks have also been in higher demand despite its relatively closer proximity to the conflict, according to data compiled by BBC News.

Neil Swanson, managing director of Tui UK and Ireland, said British travellers were looking for 'reassuring alternatives to avoid travel through the Middle East'.

He added that they were switching to 'familiar, easy-to-reach' destinations such as Spain, Portugal, Greece and Cape Verde amid higher demand for Caribbean flights.

Thomas Cook said bookings to Portugal were up by 42 per cent over the two weeks to March 13 - followed by the Balearics at 40 per cent and Canaries at 16 per cent.

Meanwhile comparison website TravelSupermarket reported a 'clear surge' in online interest for Atlantic and European destinations away from the Middle East.

Thomas Cook said bookings to Portugal were surging. Pictured: Olhos de Agua in the Algarve

Thomas Cook said bookings to Portugal were surging. Pictured: Olhos de Agua in the Algarve

Bookings for the Balearics have also soared in recent weeks. Pictured: Cala Saladeta in Ibiza

Bookings for the Balearics have also soared in recent weeks. Pictured: Cala Saladeta in Ibiza

Cape Verde has also emerged as a popular destination in recent weeks: Pictured: Boa Vista

Cape Verde has also emerged as a popular destination in recent weeks: Pictured: Boa Vista

Empty beds in front of buildings along a beach at Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai last week

Empty beds in front of buildings along a beach at Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai last week

Searches for Antigua, Dominican Republic, Cape Verde and Italy's Tuscany have all more than doubled between March 1 and 11, compared with the 11 previous days.

Jet2 Holidays chief executive Steve Heapy told Travel Weekly that hotels in Turkey and Cyprus had suffered a fall in demand in the weeks since the conflict began.

He said: 'People aren't booking to Cyprus and Turkey and cancellations are up. We're speaking to hotels and trying to get special offers for Cyprus and Turkey. It might not make much difference now, but as soon as the war is over, we'll see a sharp spike.'

On The Beach suspended its annual guidance last week due to war hitting bookings, as it described a 'significant slowdown in demand following the onset of conflict in the region, particularly to destinations such as Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt'.

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said there had been 'a big collapse in bookings to the Middle East and a big surge in bookings on short haul airlines within Europe'.

British Airways Holidays said it had seen a boost in interest for holidays to the Caribbean, with Barbados searches on BA.com up 46 per cent and Antigua searches up 63 per cent versus the same time last year. Searches for Indian Ocean holidays have also increased, with the Maldives up 32 per cent and Mauritius up 42 per cent.

Closer to the UK, holiday searches to the Canary Islands have also been on the rise, with Tenerife up 38 per cent and Gran Canaria up 50 per cent versus last year.

Skyscanner travel expert Laura Lindsay told the Daily Mail: 'As we saw in the pandemic, travellers pay close attention to the news agenda and travel advisories.

'The travel industry is well versed at adapting to unforeseen circumstances and for those who are determined to get away we know they are willing to adapt their plans in order to do so safely.

'With some routes still reduced as a result of airspace closures, travel disruption and travel advisories across key Middle Eastern hubs, Skyscanner searches data shows the top destinations for UK travellers this Easter include Spain, Italy, France and Portugal.

'Winter sun destinations like Dubai are typically amongst the for UK travellers at this time of year with Easter holidays coming up but given the ongoing events travellers are looking at alternative destinations.'

It comes as British Airways yesterday cancelled all flights to Dubai until at least June amid ongoing disruption in the Middle East. The airline will not fly to Dubai, Amman, Bahrain or Tel Aviv until after May 31, and Doha in Qatar until the end of April.

Flights to Abu Dhabi will be cancelled until later this year. BA's decision came hours after Dubai's main airport was forced to close when a drone attack caused a fire.

Dubai has surged in popularity in recent years, with 19.6million visitors in 2025, up 5 per cent on the previous year – including 1.47million from the UK, up 11 per cent.

But the recent conflict has thrown the city's tourism sector into chaos, with the UK's Foreign Office warning against all but essential travel to the United Arab Emirates.

An estimated 75,000 Brits visited Dubai last Easter - a figure likely to be close to zero this Easter as long as the conflict is still raging in just over a fortnight's time.

Smoke rises from an ongoing fire at Dubai International Airport after a drone strike yesterday

Smoke rises from an ongoing fire at Dubai International Airport after a drone strike yesterday

An Emirates Airbus A380 prepares for landing as smoke is seen at Dubai Airport yesterday

An Emirates Airbus A380 prepares for landing as smoke is seen at Dubai Airport yesterday

The Middle East's tourism industry is losing an estimated $600million (£448million) a day in visitor spending, according to World Travel and Tourism Council estimates.

Some airlines such as Qantas, Air New Zealand and Scandinavia's SAS have already confirmed they will increase fares in response to a rise in jet fuel prices.

UK Foreign Office guidance remains that Greece is safe; while most of Turkey is also considered safe, apart from the border with Syria along the east of the country.

There is no advice against Cyprus trips, but the Foreign Office warns 'regional escalation poses significant security risks and has led to travel disruption'.

Some areas of Egypt are deemed unsafe by the Foreign Office, including the Libya border, but not the key tourist regions of Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and Sharm El Sheikh.

Last week, the Mail revealed package holidays to countries near the war are being sold for as little as £100 as travel firms try to win bookings from concerned travellers.

Travel companies fear the drop-off will continue indefinitely with no end to the war in sight and are therefore unable to determine how much their profits will be hit.

MPs were warned at a hearing on Tuesday last week that holiday air fares are set to leap because of the Middle East crisis, amid fears about the impact on inflation.

Energy market expert Amrita Sen said the market for jet fuel had gone 'crazy', with a surge in prices likely to feed through into higher fares immediately.

How Iran war is affecting global flights: Which services are axed?

Global air travel remains severely disrupted after the war in Iran forced the closure of key Middle Eastern hubs including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi, stranding tens of thousands of passengers. Here is the latest on flights:

AEGEAN AIRLINES: Greece's largest carrier canceled flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Erbil and Baghdad until March 29. Flights to Dubai are canceled until March 28 and to Riyadh until March 27.

AIR BALTIC: Latvia's airBaltic said all flights to Tel Aviv had been canceled until March 28. All flights to Dubai have been canceled until March 30.

AIR CANADA: The Canadian carrier canceled all flights to Tel Aviv until May 2 and all flights to Dubai until March 28.

AIR EUROPA: The Spanish airline has canceled all flights to Tel Aviv until March 20.

AIR FRANCE-KLM: Air France has canceled flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh until March 17. KLM said flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai were suspended until March 28 and flights to Tel Aviv were suspended for the remainder of its winter season.

AIR INDIA: Air India and Air India Express temporarily suspended all its Dubai operations on March 16.

CATHAY PACIFIC: The Hong Kong airline said it had canceled all flights to and from Dubai and to and from Riyadh until March 31.

DELTA: The U.S. carrier has canceled flights from New York to Tel Aviv until March 31 and from Tel Aviv to New York until April 1. The restart of its Atlanta to Tel Aviv service has been delayed, with flights to Tel Aviv now paused until Aug 4 and flights from Tel Aviv paused until Aug 5.

EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES: The Israeli flag carrier's regular flights were canceled until March 21.

EMIRATES: The UAE airline said it expects to operate a limited Dubai schedule from March 16, after authorities controlled a fire caused by a drone near Dubai's international airport that forced a suspension of flights. In their website, Emirates admitted some flights from its March 16 schedule were canceled.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS: The UAE carrier said it resumed a limited commercial flight schedule between Abu Dhabi and a number of key destinations.

FINNAIR: The Finnish carrier canceled its Dubai flights until March 29 and Doha flights until April 2, continuing to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel.

FLYNAS: Saudi Arabian budget airline Flynas extended its suspension of flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Doha, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and Syria until March 31.

IAG: IAG-owned British Airways cancelled all flights to Dubai until at least June. The airline will not fly to Dubai, Amman, Bahrain or Tel Aviv until after May 31, and Doha in Qatar until the end of April. Flights to Abu Dhabi will be cancelled until later this year.

INDIGO: The Indian airline suspends operations to Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah until March 28.

JAPAN AIRLINES: Japan Airlines suspended Tokyo-Doha flights scheduled from February 28 to March 31 and Doha-Tokyo flights until April 1.

LOT: The Polish airline said all flights to Dubai were canceled until March 28 and to Tel Aviv until March 31. LOT also canceled flights to Riyadh until March 24 and to Beirut from March 31 to April 30.

LUFTHANSA GROUP: The German airline group, which includes Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Swiss and Brussels Airlines as well as ITA Airways, suspended flights to Tel Aviv through April 2, and to Beirut, Dubai, Amman, Erbil, and Abu Dhabi until March 28. Flights to Tehran were suspended through April 30 and to Dammam until March 15.

MALAYSIA AIRLINES: The Malaysian carrier suspended all flights to Doha until March 20.

NORWEGIAN AIR: The Nordic airline plans to fly to Tel Aviv and Beirut from June 15, instead of April 1 and April 4, respectively, as it had previously planned.

PEGASUS: Pegasus Airlines canceled its Iran, Iraq, Amman, Beirut, Kuwait, Bahrain, Doha, Dammam, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah flights until March 31. Flights to Riyadh are canceled until March 23.

QATAR AIRWAYS: The carrier said its scheduled flight operations is still temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace and that it will operate a revised limited number of flights from March 18 to March 28.

TURKISH AIRLINES: The Turkish transport ministry said Turkish Airlines canceled flights to Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Bahrain and Dammam until March 19, while flights to Iran were canceled until March 20.

WIZZ AIR: The low-cost airline suspended flights to Israel until March 29 and to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Amman and Jeddah from mainland European destinations until the middle of September.