American issued a waiver that covers not only Doha and Tel Aviv, but also several major regional hubs including Abu Dhabi (AUH), Amman (AMM), Bahrain (BAH), and Dubai (DXB). Travelers scheduled to fly to, from, or through those airports through March 15 can reschedule their flights as long as the new travel is completed within one year of the original ticket date.

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Delta Air Lines has dropped all flights from New York’s JFK International (JFK) to Tel Aviv (TLV) through at least March 8, with return flights canceled through at least March 9. Delta’s waiver, which allows flyers to rebook for a new flight through April 15 or cancel without penalty, now covers all flights through March 31.

United Airlines canceled its schedule from the U.S. to Tel Aviv through at least March 6 and has two separate waivers in place. The first is for Tel Aviv and Dubai (DXB) and covers flights to and from those airports through March 7. The second waiver not only includes Tel Aviv and Dubai, but also Abu Dhabi (AUH), Beirut (BEY), and Erbil (EBL) starting on March 8 through the end of the month. Passengers can reschedule for a new flight without change fees or fare differences through March 31.

Cruise Ship Impact

Five cruise lines have ships scheduled to be in the Arabian Gulf area, with four lines already having ships in the area and unable to operate. Two – TUI Cruises and Aroya Cruises – are not sold to the North American market, but two – MSC Cruises and Celestyal Cruises – are.

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According to a post on its Facebook page, Celestyal has canceled the March 2 sailings of its two ships in the region. The line had previously canceled the Feb. 28 sailings for both ships as well.

“We regret to inform our guests and travel partners that in view of the current circumstances in the Middle East, the Celestyal Journey cruise scheduled to depart from Dubai on March 2 and the Celestyal Discovery cruise scheduled to depart from Abu Dhabi on March 2, have been canceled.”

Celestyal Journey will remain alongside the port in Dohan until March 7. Currently, the line plans to resume its scheduled Desert Days itinerary on March 7 “subject to operating conditions.” In the meantime, guests currently onboard the ship have the choice to remain onboard or disembark in Doha at their leisure.

Celestyal Discovery is currently alongside the port in Dubai. Due to “instructions from local authorities,” the line is unable to disembark guests. The line is working with local authorities to get authorization and will begin disembarkation as soon as permission is received. The March 2 sailing of Celestyal Discovery was the last it was to operate in the Arabian Gulf this season and is due to reposition to the Mediterranean.

All guests who were due to travel on the canceled sailings will be offered the option of a full refund or a future cruise credit.

Reuters reports that MSC Cruises is keeping its Arabian Gulf-based ship, MSC Euribia, alongside port in Dubai per guidance from regional U.S. military authorities. MSC Euribia departed Abu Dhabi on Feb. 25 and was due to finish the current sailing back in Abu Dhabi on March 4. It arrived in Dubai on Feb. 27.

Travel Advisories

On Friday, the U.S. Department of State issued a Worldwide Caution travel advisory, telling Americans worldwide “to exercise increased caution” whether they are in the region or not. The advice remains the same for Americans abroad: enroll with the State Department’s STEP program to get the latest security alerts, and join the State Department’s WhatsApp group to receive streamlined updates.

The State Department also reissued individual travel warnings for Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. All of those warnings are at Level 3: Reconsider Travel due to unrest, terrorism, crime, or a combination of all three.