Are we at war with Iran? Formally, yes. The US-Israel strikes on Iran on February 28 started a conflict that, as of late March, shows no clear signs of a ceasefire. The Iran-Israel war has joined a growing list of crises that have made traveling in the US and internationally harder, more expensive, and more uncertain than at any point since 2020.

Open Flightradar24 over the Gulf right now and the effect is unmistakable. Where one of the world's most congested aviation crossroads should appear, a dense web of connections linking Europe, Asia, and Africa, there is a gap. A hole in the sky. Airspace over Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Jordan is closed. The Eastern Mediterranean region carries FAA warnings. Kuwait International Airport has been damaged by drone strikes and is on hold for commercial operations. Dubai International, the world's busiest airport for international passengers, was evacuated after retaliatory Iranian strikes caused damage nearby. Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad together handle roughly a third of all passenger traffic between Europe and Asia, and more than half of all flights from Europe to Australia and New Zealand. When the American and Iran war knocked out Gulf operations, there was no clean workaround for those networks. "This has spiraled into an aviation quagmire." - Henry Harteveldt, Atmosphere Research Group

The question for Americans traveling in the US is not just about flying to Iran or the Eastern Mediterranean. The Iran war's fuel shock is rippling into US domestic aviation in ways that are only beginning to show up in ticket prices. Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson logged over 350 cancellations during the March 16 storms and 170-plus by mid-morning on March 17, driven by storm recovery combined with TSA staffing shortages caused by the ongoing DHS partial government shutdown. If you have a connecting flight through Atlanta, Chicago O'Hare, or LaGuardia right now, most travel advisors agree: arrive at least three hours early, avoid basic economy tickets, and do not schedule connections shorter than three hours. The system is not absorbing disruptions at its usual rate.

When fares swing daily and routes vanish weekly, where you book matters as much as when. Triwize compares airlines across price, routing quality, layover times, and carrier reliability - not just the cheapest available seat. Unlock exclusive discounts and deals, cancel with ease when plans shift, earn Triwize Coins on every booking redeemable against future trips, and get real human support whenever disruption forces a last-minute change.

Tourism to Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean remains people's top choices when it comes to travel. However, the pertinent Iran conflict and the looming war atmosphere can severely impact travel.

Greece, Cyprus, and Croatia are open and operating normal commercial flight schedules. Turkey is open and Turkish Airlines is operating normally. Egypt is open and receiving flights. Israel is a different situation. Ben Gurion Airport began accepting limited repatriation flights in early March after a full closure at the start of the conflict. Most major carriers including British Airways have extended suspensions through late April and May. El Al has continued limited operations throughout and is the most reliable option for essential travel to Israel. Flying to Iran on any commercial carrier is not possible as of this writing. Iran's Imam Khomeini International Airport was fully closed in early March. Mehrabad International was attacked on March 7. Business travel to Iran is not feasible under current conditions, and the US State Department has issued instructions to Americans in the region to depart immediately. Tourism Iran, already restricted by sanctions before the war, is entirely off the table for the foreseeable future.

One area of genuine good news: direct long-haul routes continue expanding on non-conflict corridors. Direct flights to Cape Verde now operate regularly from Lisbon, London Gatwick, Amsterdam, and Manchester, driven by strong demand for Atlantic island alternatives that sit entirely outside the conflict zone. Norwegian Airlines moved quickly when the Iran crisis hit, adding 120 extra departures from late March through mid-April to absorb displaced passengers from cancelled Gulf connections.

The people most directly hurt by a sudden collapse in bookings are not airline shareholders. They are guides, drivers, hotel housekeeping staff, guesthouse owners, and restaurant workers who hold jobs in the hospitality and tourism industry without savings buffers or meaningful unemployment protection. The UNWTO estimates that for every dollar of airline revenue lost in a conflict-affected corridor, roughly two dollars of wider tourism and hospitality economic activity disappears with it.

The Jordan case from 2023 is instructive. Petra, Wadi Rum, and Aqaba, none of which had any meaningful proximity to the Gaza conflict, saw booking collapses of 40 to 60 percent simply because they were in the Middle East. Local guides who had built careers over years of language training stopped getting work within weeks. Tourism and hospitality infrastructure does not come back automatically when bookings resume. It takes years.

Global aviation news today is almost entirely about crisis management. But the industry has survived this kind of disruption before. The Russia-Ukraine war in 2022 erased the Siberian shortcut route model for European carriers almost overnight. The Red Sea disruptions of 2023 rerouted freight and aviation costs sharply higher. MH17 in 2014 permanently changed how airlines assess overflight risk. Each crisis reshapes the network in ways that do not fully reverse when the conflict ends.

The last step is, stay flexible and enjoy your vacation! To help you have the best European travel experience with ease and affordability, checkout Triwize , the best affordable flight booking website. You can book multi-country flights from here and plan a memorable trip with no hassle.

Sources: CNBC, NPR, CNN, Al Jazeera, Aviation Week, Time, The National, Euronews, Cirium, FlightAware, Argus US Jet Fuel Index, Squaremouth, OPSGROUP.