Middle east tips

The Indian civil aviation ministry has advised domestic airlines to assess risks before flying on international routes as tensions in the Middle East are growing. The civil aviation regulatory body is working with the airlines and the ministry of external affairs to navigate the situation, civil aviation secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam has said.

Much to the astonishment of some of my friends and family, I traveled to Israel on a seven-night press trip, returning home on April 8, less than a week before Iran launched its attack on the country.

The United Arab Emirates is used to oppressive heat but the Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest in the world, was not prepared for the unprecedented amount of rainfall this past week.

Saudi Arabia is pushing tourism. 

Dubai’s flagship carrier Emirates has had to cancel nearly 400 flights and delay many more in the 3 days following Tuesday’s thunderstorm, Emirates President Tim Clark wrote in an open letter to customers on Saturday.

Update: April 15, 2024, at 9:00 PM ET 

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, April 16. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

After a tense weekend in the Middle East, airlines are considering what, if any, changes need to be made to their networks and routes. 

The Lufthansa Group is slashing its financial forecast after a series of strikes affected its operations and warned rising tensions in the Middle East could further affect its bottom line.

Lufthansa has canceled flights to and from Iran as tensions escalate in the region. However, Skift has discovered that the cancellations aren’t universal, even within the same airline group.

Officials from Guinness World Records announced that SeaWorld Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, has been named the “Largest Indoor Marine-Life Theme Park” in the world.

Saudi Arabia's futuristic capital, Riyadh, is a major commercial and financial hub set on a desert plateau in the centre of the country.

In Saudi Arabia’s latest tourism campaign, Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi aims to bust the stereotypes global travelers may have about the kingdom. The campaign emphasizes that Saudi Arabia has a lot to offer and is a welcoming destination, said Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of the Saudi Tourism Authority.

Outbound travel from China to the Middle East reached pre-pandemic levels during the Chinese New Year period, according to data firm ForwardKeys.

The surprise exit of Jumeirah Group CEO Katerina Giannouka 15 months into her role is the latest resignation for the government-owned hotel brand of Dubai.

Katerina Giannouka has left Jumeirah Group one year into her time as CEO, confirms an internal document seen by Skift. The document is attributed to Jumeirah’s owning company Dubai Holding group CEO Amit Kaushal and was circulated to leaders in the organization.

The Dubai International Airport, known as DXB, has surged in a post-pandemic world.

The latest publicly available scheduling data indicates that American Airlines has removed Tel Aviv from its flight schedule until at least October 2024. The decision comes in the wake of the notorious terrorist attack launched by Hamas on Southern Israel on October 7, 2023. 

Forbes Travel Guide, a rating system for luxury hotels and other travel products and services, released its 2024 Star Awards on Wednesday. About 340 luxury hotels received “five-star” ratings, while about 1,600 others received other commendations in the 66th year of the rankings.

Egypt received a record-breaking number of tourists in 2023 despite the war between Israel and Hamas, according to a statement by the country’s tourism ministry on Thursday. 

United Arab Emirates-based Silkhaus, a tech-based short-term rental platform, has announced raising a “multi-million” pre-series A financing from San Francisco headquartered-Partners for Growth.