Escalating hostilities between Iran, Israel and the United States have triggered sweeping air-space closures across the Gulf, forcing mainland airlines to scrap services to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. TVB News reports that Air China, China Eastern and China Southern introduced special refund and re-booking policies late on 1 March (news.tvb.com).
Passengers holding tickets purchased between 24 February and 15 March may reroute or obtain full refunds at no extra cost. The three carriers have already cancelled at least 18 round-trips scheduled for 1–3 March, according to flight-tracking platform VariFlight. Routes most affected include Beijing–Dubai, Shanghai–Riyadh and Guangzhou–Abu Dhabi.
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Corporate travel managers should note that diversions via Istanbul and Doha remain possible but add three to five hours of flight time; some companies are activating ‘split-team’ protocols to avoid critical staff being stranded in the region. Freight forwarders warn that belly-hold cargo capacity will tighten, raising spot rates for high-tech components moving between China and Europe.
China’s Consular Department has re-issued level-two alerts advising nationals to avoid non-essential travel to Iran and neighbouring states and to register itineraries through the 12308 app. Mobility teams with personnel on assignment in the Gulf are urged to review emergency-evacuation vendors and confirm local contact points.
Industry analysts say that if the air-space shutdown persists beyond a week, airlines may redeploy wide-body aircraft to North American or Southeast Asian routes, potentially improving seat availability for those markets.
