Russia-Ukraine conflict bound to make air travel much more expensive

AMMAN — Russia’s conflict in Ukraine is negatively affecting the already difficult situation of the aviation sector, according to several chief executive officers of national airlines, with ticket prices expected to double in light of the global increase in fuel prices. اضافة اعلان

Fly Jordan CEO Amjad Maslamani told Jordan News that the aviation and tourism sectors are usually among the first to be affected by external factors, including wars and epidemics.

“We are already affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we cannot bear any further losses. The Russian conflict in Ukraine will increase the burden on workers in these two sectors, which will incur great losses,” he said.

The number of Russian and Ukrainian tourists in the region is not negligible, Maslamani said, adding that “we hope that this crisis will be solved with minimal losses, so as not to lose them”.

If the conflict continues, he said, “fuel prices are expected to soar even higher and this will be significantly reflected on ticket prices; it will lead to an increase in tickets prices by 30-40 percent, and maybe more”.

Jordan Aviation CEO Zuhair Al-Khashman told Jordan News that the effects of Russia’s conflict in Ukraine began to appear two weeks ago, “as international oil prices began to rise like crazy”.

Khashman also believes that ticket prices will rise to almost double, “which will lead to people’s reluctance to travel, which will negatively affect workers in the tourism sector and lead to the deterioration of the aviation sector”.

RJ CEO Samer Majali said the Russo-Ukrainian conflict has led to an increase in the prices of oil derivatives, reiterating that “this will be reflected in the prices of airline tickets later”.

Majali, who participated in the activities of the ninth Arab Aviation Summit, was quoted by local media outlets as saying that the decision by Europe and the Middle East, to ease travel restrictions and do away with pandemic-related procedures was a positive step for the sector.

However, the events that ensued cannot bode well for air travel.

Following the Russian invasion, however, Ukraine closed its airspace, and some commercial airlines including Lufthansa and Air France, suspended flights to Ukraine, earlier this week as tensions escalated.

Countries including the United States and the United Kingdom have advised their citizens to leave Ukraine.