International flight bookings have declined globally since the start of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, especially in the Americas as people canceled flights to the Middle East and around the world, according to data from travel analytics firm Forward Keys released today.
The global demand for travel has decreased significantly since the operation "Al-Aqsa Flood" launched by the Palestinian resistance led by the Qassam Brigades on the seventh of last October on the Israeli occupation in the Gaza envelope area, followed by Israel with continuous bombardment of the Gaza Strip that entered its 35th day, causing the death of more than 11,27 Palestinians and wounding <>,<> others.
Olivier Ponte, vice president of analytics at Forward Keys, said in a statement: "This war is a catastrophic and tragic human tragedy that we all witness daily on television. This would make people reluctant to travel to the Middle East and it would affect customers' confidence in traveling elsewhere."
International flight bookings in the Americas fell 10 percent in the three weeks after Oct. 3 compared to the number of tickets issued three weeks before the attack, according to airline ticket data from Forward Keys.
Travel in the Middle East also declined, with international airfares issued in the region falling 9% in the same period.
International flight bookings for travel to the region fell 26 percent in the three weeks following the attack.
International flight bookings also fell by 5% on average across regions, impacting the recovery in global travel after the pandemic.
Ponte said bookings a day before the attack showed that global air travel in the fourth quarter of the year would recover by 95 percent compared to 2019 levels, but as of late October the forecast had fallen to 88 percent.
Daily flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport dropped from 500 to 100 (Anatolia)
80% cancellation of flights
A few days ago, a report by the Secret Flight website, which tracks flights, revealed that flights to and from Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport have declined by an average of 80% since the outbreak of the aggression on the Gaza Strip.
An average of 100 flights a day land at Ben Gurion Airport during the war, compared with the usual 500 flights during the pre-war period.
Most of the current traffic concerns the three Israeli carriers: El Al, Arkia and Israel, at a time when most foreign airlines have canceled flights due to the war on Gaza and the sharp rise in insurance premiums for airlines.
The three Israeli airlines can continue flying because they are insured by the Israeli state-owned insurance company Inbal, which has state guarantees.
On Oct. 12, the Israeli government approved a plan to provide a $6 billion government guarantee to cover war risk insurance for Israeli airlines.
Some 50 international airlines, followed by subsidiaries, cancelled all scheduled flights to and from Israel in the first week of the war that broke out on Oct. 7.