International Air Travelers Groan, Gulf Carriers Record Losses over Iranian War

Chinedu Eze

The sudden declaration of war against Iran by the United States of America and Israel on February 28, 2026, has reset air travel globally, thereby inflicting pains on stranded international air travellers, following the closure of United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar airspace, the biggest hubs in the Middle East.

Air travellers that arrived in Doha and Dubai on February 28 became stranded because they could not connect flights to their final destinations, even though the government of UAE offered to lodge most of them in Dubai in hotels.

As at Tuesday, Dubai-based mega carrier, Emirates operated skeletal service but the war still raged and wafting the gulf airspace with uncertainty, as Gulf carriers continue to record losses.

In Nigeria, Qatar Airways, the Middle East carrier, which operated the highest flight frequency from Nigeria, including Emirates, Saudia of Saudi Arabia and Middle East Airlines (MEA) of Lebanon, have transferred some of their passengers to some African carriers, especially Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways.

Travel agents said the war has empowered Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s biggest airline with large global network, and it is now helping the gulf airlines to distribute passengers to farther destinations.

Travel expert and organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ambassador Ikechi Uko, told THISDAY in a telephone interview that the war gave rise to global reset in air travel, remarking that the war has disrupted a 15-year lead of Gulf carriers that dominated the air travel market with Ethiopian Airlines making remarkable in-road. According to him, with the war, Ethiopian Airline has become a go-to airline from Africa because of its reach in terms of destinations and capacity.

Ambassador Uko stated that at the start of the war, Emirates moved its planes outside Dubai to Kenya, Egypt and Europe; and Kenya Airways operated flights on Emirates behalf, helping to carry its passengers to their destinations.

The war has also empowered African airlines as Ethiopian, Kenya Airways, RwandAir now become choice for even premium passengers, as Addis Ababa became busier, processing far more passengers than before. Ethiopian still flies to Saudi Arabia and all other destinations, taking passengers to the Far East, Europe, America and Canada.

Qatar became a dominant airline in Africa after it invested in the continent and started partnership with RwandAir. It delivered thousands of passengers from Africa to Doha, but with the present disruptions and closure of its airspace, it fell back on its partners in Africa.

“There were those who were already stranded in Doha and Dubai. It is true that UAE gave free accommodation to the passengers in Dubai, but how long will that last; maybe two to three days. It will become too costly if the closure of the airspace continues after one week and beyond. So, the war in Iran in 2026 has become the biggest challenge after the COVID-2019 shut down,” Uko said.

He also added that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) must have lost money; the same with caterers, fuel marketers, handling companies and many others.

The Group General Manager, Finchglow Holdings Limited and President, Association of African Aviation Training Organisations Nigeria (AATON), Bankole Bernard, said the disruption caused by the war in Iran has shaken global air travel because Middle East carriers are the most efficient and the most effective, noting that the disruption affected passenger movement as well as commodity movement.

“The economy will suffer because of the closure of the airspace of some Middle East countries and it will affect different parts of the world,” he said.

According to Bernard, what makes it worse is the belligerence of Iran which is indiscriminately throwing bombs, even at hotels; so, people will be apprehensive about travelling to most of the Middle East destinations, adding that Dubai and Doha as operating hubs will be diminished for some time; until the war comes to an end.

“However, people can use Cairo (Egypt) because they are not affected; although they are on red alert. The war came up all of a sudden so, the airlines were not prepared. Qatar airplane that came to Lagos is on ground because they closed their airspace. The airline is running at a loss because it is keeping its crew in hotels. This has affected Nigerian travellers, many of whom are asking for refund. So, this is a huge loss because it has disrupted passenger movement,” he further said.

Bernard noted that Egypt Air, RwandAir, Ethiopian Airlines are getting the passengers being offloaded by the Gulf carriers, “but our economy will feel it.”

The Chief Executive Officer of Travellab Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Shalom Asuquo, told THISDAY that the Gulf carriers have proven themselves over the years and are protecting $40 billion travel market.

“They have to stop flights because they want to make sure that if anything happens, their passengers are safe and so far, they have managed that very well,” she said.

Asuquo who is also tourism expert, said in order not to leave many Nigerian travellers hitherto scheduled to travel with Emirates, Qatar Airways or other Gulf carriers stranded, they diverted the passengers through Western destinations, using African airlines such as Ethiopian Airlines.

“We put people going to China on Ethiopian Airlines. if you had bought ticket on Emirates or Qatar, no problem, Ethiopian can take care of you. So, Ethiopian is benefiting from the crisis. They have the largest network. They have the equipment; so, it is a win-win situation. The issue is about positioning self to attract the market,” the Chief Executive Officer of Travellab said.

She also noted that the United Arab Emirates has built a reputation which brings trust, noting that to make travellers feel at home, after the initial attacks, the leader of UAE was seen in the mall greeting people, thus indicating they were in a safe place.

Asuquo said while attending to her clients she suggested to them the airlines they could change to, since Qatar and Emirates suspended operations.

“So, the airlines that had to suspend operation in the first two days of the strikes were Qatar, Emirates, Saudia and nobody wanted to go as far as Cairo because of its nearness to Israel. Rather, they will prefer Air Maroc (Morocco national carrier) and that is why their flights were filling up. But once the crisis ends these Gulf carriers will bounce back,” she said.

According to media reports, there has been widespread flight cancellations, suspension and re-routing of flights across the Middle East (Iran, Iraq, Jordan, UAE and Qatar) since the crisis started on February 2028, 2026 and while Qatar has suspended flight operation, UAE has initiated exceptional flights for stranded passengers.

Airlines hope that the war will end soon so that they can resume their normal flights.