By Emmanuel Mounier, Secretary General, Global Travel Tech.
Introduction – A Shock to Global Travel
The war in the Gulf has sent shockwaves through global travel. The conflict has severely disrupted one of the world’s most important aviation hubs. In turn, the Gulf’s top airlines have been forced to cancel or significantly reduce large parts of their planned schedules. The effects of the conflict have been felt far beyond the region.
The headlines have been dominated by the impact on passengers and the rise in fuel and travel prices. However, this is only one part of the story. An important question for our industry is what happens next. The question is not only how disruption spreads, but how we can help travellers through it. In the current geopolitical situation, conflicts can affect travel plans overnight. In this scenario, travel tech should not be seen only as a booking tool but also as a vital tool for travellers that enables adaptation and flexibility.
Travel Tech as the Adaptation Layer
Travel demand has not gone away; it is simply adapting. People are still travelling, but they are doing so on different routes, with different carriers, and in some cases to different destinations. Airlines are already responding to this shift. Air India added 78 additional flights on nine routes, including six Europe routes and Delhi–New York. Kenya Airways has also reported a sharp increase in demand, with load factors rising from around 70% in January to nearly full by March.
Travel tech is crucial now because it helps travellers respond when the original plan no longer works. It can help users identify a different hub, a different airline, a different sequence of connections, or a different departure date. It matters even more because this crisis has also exposed weaknesses in the disruption response. Recent reporting indicates that when travellers needed to rebook quickly, support systems sometimes fell short, with airlines and online platforms struggling to handle the large-scale disruptions. In that kind of environment, travel tech has the potential of doing more than just facilitating bookings. It can enable travellers to effectively navigate disruptions in real time.
Redirecting Demand, Not Losing It
One of the most interesting questions the current crisis raises is whether it could redirect travel demand in a more regional direction. It is still too early to say for sure, but signs are pointing that way. Qantas, for example, has increased flights to Rome and Paris as demand for Europe rose while travellers adjusted plans around the Middle East.
That also opens up scenarios that have already been outlined: Europeans staying in Europe, Asian travellers staying in Asia, and new destinations attracting those who no longer want to travel through or to markets that now feel less attractive. Morocco, Egypt, Spain, and other mid-season alternatives could benefit if travellers continue to prioritise lower-risk and more direct options. It is hard to predict exactly how these flows will settle, and that is precisely why travel tech is so important. The better travel tech is at surfacing relevant alternatives, the easier it will be for people to keep travelling safely, despite the disruption.
Another Crisis, Another Important Role for Travel Tech
The impact of the war in the Gulf is first and foremost a story about disruption: flights are being cancelled, capacity is being reduced, prices are going up, and travellers are having to think about rerouting and replanning. For our industry, though, it is also a reminder that travel demand is often surprisingly resilient.
That is why travel tech becomes more relevant every time travel becomes more volatile. Its role is no longer simply to help users book efficiently in normal circumstances. In moments like these, the most valuable travel tech is the kind that helps people compare options, reroute more easily, and identify the best new choices when the old ones no longer work.