Mideast war impact on travel bookings fading, German airline group says

By AFP and ToI Staff 12 August 2026, 1:08 pm

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File: In this photo taken March 11, 2019, a TUI Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplane is seen parked at Boeing Co.’s Renton Assembly Plant in Renton, Washington (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

German travel giant TUI says that bookings are returning to normal levels despite the ongoing Mideast war, as it presents its latest financial results.

Tourism in Europe is experiencing a turbulent summer marked by soaring jet fuel prices because of the US and Israeli war against Iran, as well as heatwaves and wildfires in Spain, France, Portugal and Greece.

Though booked revenue for the summer is down six percent from the same season last year, TUI — the world’s largest travel group — says bookings over the past four weeks have risen seven percent.

The company notes renewed interest in Eastern Mediterranean destinations as holidaymakers return to the region after months of geopolitical uncertainty.

“Business is coming back, it’s normalizing,” chief executive Sebastian Ebel says on an earnings call. “We have seen strong weeks.”

The Mideast war has hit airlines as well as cruise operators with higher fuel prices, leading many clients to change their travel plans.

TUI’s airlines do not currently fly to Israel.