Airlines serving the Middle East are loosening ticket rules and waiving costly penalties as geopolitical tensions continue to disrupt flight schedules across the region.
Several Middle Eastern carriers, together with Philippine Airlines and the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA), agreed on March 12 to give affected passengers broader options to manage cancelled or delayed trips.
During a coordination meeting with PTAA, airlines committed to allow travelers to rebook flights without paying rebooking fees, claim full refunds, or move their travel dates with greater flexibility.
Among the airlines that joined the discussions were Kuwait Airways, Gulf Air, Oman Air, Philippine Airlines, Etihad Airways, Royal Jordanian, Qatar Airways and Saudia. Emirates did not attend the meeting.
PTAA president Jaison P. Yang said the waivers apply to passengers whose flights from Manila to destinations in the Middle East—and onward connections to Europe—have been cancelled or significantly disrupted. The policy also covers return flights tied to the affected itineraries.
“Passengers can rebook their flights without paying rebooking fees, and this waiver even applies to tickets that are normally non-rebookable,” Yang said.
Ordinarily, travelers pay between USD150 and USD500 in penalties to change bookings, depending on ticket class. Waiving those fees provides immediate financial relief to passengers scrambling to adjust travel plans.
Airlines have also widened the window for rebooking, giving travelers more time to rearrange trips while the situation in the region remains uncertain.
The meeting also aimed to strengthen coordination between airlines and travel agencies as disruptions ripple through global routes.
Yang said PTAA will help circulate timely advisories to member agencies and set up a centralized channel for updates on refunds, rebooking policies and passenger assistance—an effort to keep travelers informed while flight operations remain fluid.
