A week of US-Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes into Gulf states has kept much of the Middle East’s airspace closed, driving global airfare surges as airlines reroute flights. This ongoing crisis, following initial disruptions to Gulf hubs like Dubai, has hit Cathay Pacific hardest, with an SCMP analysis showing average 93% jumps in fares to Hong Kong from 57 destinations worldwide.
US-Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes spilling into neighbouring Gulf states have forced much of the Middle East’s airspace to remain closed for over a week. Airlines and passengers continue to divert and rebook, pushing fares higher globally.
An SCMP reporter tracked the earliest available direct Cathay Pacific flights from 57 destinations in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Americas and Africa—excluding Middle East, mainland China and Taiwan routes. The average cheapest ticket price for Saturday departures has surged 93 per cent compared with the upper range of typical prices over the past 12 months, per Google Flights data.
European routes saw the biggest spikes. No one-way economy tickets were available, but business-class on Cathay’s London-Hong Kong flight for Saturday cost HK$53,486 (US$6,837)—over 600 per cent above the usual HK$7,400. Madrid followed at HK$51,258 (US$6,553) for business class, about 500 per cent more than the typical HK$8,500.
This underscores how the protracted geopolitical tensions are inflating travel costs worldwide amid persistent airspace restrictions.