What the conflict means for planned package holidays

In principle, a high level of insurance applies to package tours. If a trip due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances such as acts of war or airspace closures at the destination are significantly affected, special protective mechanisms of travel law apply. Whether your trip takes place as planned currently depends heavily on the operational situation of the airlines and the official requirements.

However, there is no general right to a free cancellation out of pure concern. Legally decisive for one free cancellation is whether there are actually unavoidable, extraordinary circumstances at the holiday destination that significantly affect the execution of the trip or the transport there. An official one Travel warning from the Foreign Office is the most important indication of this in practice, but not the only mandatory requirement.

If your organizer cancels the trip on their own initiative, you will receive a full refund of the travel price. If you’re not going to travel for a few weeks or months, you should do so for now keep Calm. A reliable forecast is currently impossible and precautionary cancellations are not uncommon Cancellation costs tied together.

This is how the major tour operators are currently reacting

The travel portal HolidayCheck, through which many FOCUS online readers also book, acts as an intermediary in close contact with the service providers. On one special information page The company bundles the organizers’ updates for affected guests. Since the situation is dynamic, the providers usually contact affected holidaymakers directly. Here is the current status:

• Alltours: Travel to the Middle East with arrival up to and including March 23, 2026 are completely canceled. Anyone arriving between March 24th and 31st (or having a change in the Middle East) will be contacted directly by Alltours and can rebook or cancel free of charge.
• Anex Group (Anex Tour, Bucher, Neckermann, Öger Tours): Travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Oman with arrival up to and including March 27, 2026 are actively canceled. Free rebookings (including for connecting connections in these areas) are possible for arrivals by April 7, 2026 possible.
• Capital Holidays and Etihad Holidays: Free cancellation for all trips to the UAE and Oman as well as all stopovers in the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain has been extended until March 31, 2026 extended.
• Coral Travel / Holiday Tourism: Package trips to the affected areas and all trips with transit via the Gulf States are up to and including March 23, 2026 cancelled. For arrivals between March 24th and 31st, rebookings to the UAE, Qatar and Oman are free of charge. For hotel-only bookings, customers are asked to contact service by email (service@coraltravel.de).
• DER Tourism (ITS, Jahn Reisen, Meiers World Travel): The organizer cancels all trips to areas with a current travel warning up to and including March 27, 2026 away. Rebookings for arrivals by April 7, 2026 (UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia) are free of charge. For flights with affected hub connections, the deadline for free rebookings has been extended to March 27th.
• Eurowings Holidays: Package tours to Dubai and Abu Dhabi with arrival up to and including March 31, 2026 are canceled proactively and free of charge.
• Falk Travel: As a precautionary measure, the organizer has suspended all air travel to the Middle East up to and including March 20, 2026 cancelled. Trips to the UAE with arrival by March 31, 2026 can be rebooked (except for dynamic trips and flights without a rebooking option).
• HolidayCheck Travel: All your own package tours to the UAE and Oman for arrivals up to and including March 21, 2026 are canceled free of charge.
• LMX: All package tours to areas with a travel warning can be booked for arrivals until March 20, 2026 can be canceled free of charge.
• Schauinsland trips: As the organizer officially confirmed, all trips to the UAE and Oman as well as package and flight-only trips with a stopover in the Gulf region up to and including March 31, 2026 completely canceled.
• SPICA Travel (SIT): All trips to the UAE with arrival up to and including March 20, 2026 are cancelled. Free rebookings to other destinations are possible for arrivals up to March 31st (except for dynamically packaged bookings).
• Tui / Ltur: The industry leader is canceling trips to the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as well as all connecting connections in the region for all journeys up to and including April 7, 2026 (Israel even until April 30th). Customers can cancel or rebook free of charge. Important: If you do not actively rebook, your trip will be automatically canceled by Tui after March 21st at the latest.
• Vtours: Package tours to the UAE, Qatar and Oman with arrival up to and including March 27, 2026 are now canceled. Guests arriving by March 31st (including those with connecting flights) will now be informed directly by email from the organizer about their individual cancellation and rebooking conditions.

Important note for travelers: The official announcements from the respective organizer are always decisive; changes are possible at any time due to the dynamic situation.

Flight chaos in the Middle East: hubs only operate to a limited extent

It’s not just traditional hotel vacationers who are affected. Anyone who has booked a flight with a stopover in the Middle East (for example in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha) is also clearly feeling the effects. The closure of various airspaces is forcing airlines to take massive detours or outright cancel flights.

After drone attacks, airlines such as Emirates are gradually resuming operations, but the flight schedule remains significantly reduced. Passengers are currently often only transported if their connecting flight is guaranteed to take place. You can find out more about the flight chaos in the Middle East in our separate article “Evacuation and disruptions: This is what travelers need to know now“.

Despite the crisis: holidaymakers are moving to the Mediterranean

Regardless of the huge wave of cancellations by travel providers, many people are not deterred. Current platform data HolidayCheck prove: German holidaymakers are mostly sticking to their travel plans. Instead of completely foregoing the time out abroad, there is simply a redistribution. While destinations such as Egypt are currently being avoided, classic Mediterranean destinations such as Spain, Italy and Turkey are benefiting from continued strong demand.

Important emergency tips for holidaymakers on site:

• Drive not on your own to the airport, but wait for explicit requests from your airline or your tour operator.
• Use the app “Travel safely“ from the Federal Foreign Office for verified, official warnings.
• Please register immediately Crisis preparedness list ELEFAND of the Foreign Office to receive direct information and evacuation assistance in emergencies.