AIRLINES have been warned not to fly over the Gulf until next month due to rising tensions in the Middle East.
What this means for Brits is your long-haul flight could take a different (and longer) route, or even become more expensive.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) tightened its warning on flights over the Gulf earlier this week.
It has warned airlines to avoid airspace over the waters of the Persian Gulf within Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE until September 30.
However, this area is considered one of the world’s busiest flight corridors.
For those on long-haul journeys from the UK, these countries are quite often used as stopovers.
In its advice, the EASA said: “While risks over the waters of the Persian Gulf remain high, operations necessary for arrivals at or departures from aerodromes within the affected Flight Information Regions may be conducted with sufficient mitigation.”
However as the EASA warning is advice and not a complete ban, airlines can factor the risk into their route planning.
There won’t be a suspension of flights but some are likely to be rerouted with journeys set to become longer.
But lots of airlines have already been doing this since the war began earlier this year by avoiding certain airspaces.
Some have diverted further south over the Arabian Sea or rerouting to the eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia.
Schedules could change too as flights could become longer and aircraft types could be altered to accommodate higher fuel loads.
Ticket prices could be affected too – and not in a good way.
Earlier this year, International Airlines Group (IAG), which owns British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus warned of potential price increases.
To offset the increase in fuel costs caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, it said that there could be an extra cost through ticket prices.
Business class and other premium long-haul passengers most likely to be affected.
Chief executive Luis Gallego said airlines need to increase fares to help offset fuel costs, which make up about a quarter of their spending.
The conflict in Iran has added as much as $100 (£77) per person to the price of long-haul flights from Europe, April figures have revealed.
The Transport & Environment (T&E) said in a statement that disruption to jet fuel supplies is likely to trigger higher ticket prices for passengers.
T&E added that the rise in jet fuel prices has increased the average fuel cost by £77 for each passenger on long-haul flights leaving Europe.
For a family of four heading on a long-haul holiday that’s an increase of £308.