Tag: TravelRisk

Travel insurance is still too often treated as an optional extra. But when a medical emergency strikes while abroad, it can mean the difference between getting the care you need and facing potential overwhelming financial and practical fallout. Most travellers plan carefully for where they will stay, what they will pack and what they want to experience.

The UAE has lifted its airspace restrictions. In addition, the US-Iran ceasefire appears to be holding as of 18 May 2026. Emirates has also restored 96% of its global network. Meanwhile, other Gulf carriers, including Etihad, Qatar and Saudia, continue rebuilding operations. Capacity constraints are also gradually easing. By most operational measures, conditions are improving. However, traveller confidence tells a different story.

In April 2024, when 18 months of rain fell on Dubai in a single day, more than 1,200 flights had to be cancelled, stranding over 250,000 travellers in terminals. Late last year, Cyclone Ditwah wreaked havoc in Sri Lanka during peak tourist season, forcing mass evacuations of foreign visitors. Right now, conflict in the Middle East continues to ground flights and drive disruption, further intensifying ongoing business travel disruptions.

On Saturday, 28 February, war in the Middle East grounded three of South Africa’s key long-haul carriers: Emirates, Etihad and Qatar. As a result, the Middle East crisis disrupted major aviation routes. With airspace closed, thousands of travellers were stranded. They were either in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, or at their destinations with return flights in question.

Remember January 2025? You probably thought your biggest travel worry would be whether the hotel Wi-Fi actually worked. Fast-forward eleven months. You have navigated everything from geopolitical chess games to Artificial Intelligence (AI) reshaping how you plan and manage business trips. These experiences offered early business travel lessons that few anticipated.