Business travel Weekly · 2026 · Week 43 · 19 Oct — 25 Oct

The Houthis attacked Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Tuesday and Wednesday. Earlier reports said the attacks killed 3 people and injured 36; later reports said the October 10 attack killed at least 12 people and injured 309, with the dead including four Saudi citizens and one each from Bangladesh, the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan; the injured were all receiving treatment in hospitals, some in critical condition, and property damage was still being assessed. The terminal was hit again on October 11, killing 1 person and injuring 11. Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation announced an extension of the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport, closing it until midnight Saudi local time on October 18, and it has not been confirmed whether commercial flights can resume by then. According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, 312 of the 1,194 flights departing Saudi Arabia on Thursday were canceled or did not take off, more than a quarter of the total; later reports said one-third of Saudi flights were canceled and several high-profile events were postponed. Yemen's Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks, explicitly listing Saudi airports and airspace as targets and warning international airlines and travelers to stay away. Delta Air Lines had planned to launch a direct Atlanta-Riyadh route on October 23, but said on Monday it would delay the launch until March 2027 because of the successive attacks on airports in Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration warned airlines to exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia, citing military activity and navigation system interference, and said the threat could affect all altitude phases including overflight, approach and departure. Saudi airlines have resumed service, but the confidence needed by international airlines and event organizers has not been restored. Travel industry executives said corporate travel to Saudi Arabia has been almost entirely suspended, few inbound and outbound flights are still operating, travelers already there are leaving by land via Bahrain or Dammam, and most Umrah pilgrims are also abandoning flights for road travel. The latest reports say the attacks have affected Gulf tourism, with hotels and tour operators in the UAE and Oman reporting softer forward bookings and more security inquiries, but available hard data show the two countries are far less affected than Saudi Arabia.

On October 20, 2026, BCD Travel announced a partnership with Amadeus and Sabre to begin moving from traditional queue-based data collection to cloud-based streaming transmission, delivering instant booking, ticketing and NDC updates directly into the servicing environment. The report did not disclose further details such as implementation timeline, phased arrangements or scope of coverage. Progress currently remains at the announcement stage of this partnership and the shift to cloud-based streaming distribution.

On 22 October 2026, Amadeus and Wizz Air announced an agreement under which Wizz Air content will be made available for the first time to Amadeus travel sellers in selected markets through the Amadeus Ticketless Access (ATLA) solution. Channels including travel management companies, travel agencies, OTAs and tour operators can search and book Wizz Air flights and ancillary services within existing Amadeus workflows, and corporate travel buyers and business travelers can also access its fares through existing tools. The agreement has currently been announced; the specific markets covered and the launch timing have not yet been disclosed.

On October 22, 2026, Accor released its third-quarter 2026 operating data: quarterly revenue was €1.503 billion, up 7.7% at constant exchange rates, and system-wide RevPAR rose 4.9% year on year. In the quarter, 63 hotels and nearly 9,000 rooms were opened, and net unit growth over the past 12 months was 3.0%. By division, RevPAR in the Luxury & Lifestyle division rose 8.3%; by region, the Middle East was affected by conflict, and RevPAR in the UAE was still down about 20% year on year. Based on the above performance, Accor raised its full-year recurring EBITDA guidance to €1.270–1.285 billion. On the same day's earnings call, Accor Chief Financial Officer Martine Gerow said that third-quarter RevPAR growth came almost entirely from room rates, with average daily rate up 4.7% year on year to €117 and occupancy up slightly by 0.1 percentage point to 70.6%. An October 23 report said that on Thursday's earnings call, Gerow said that because of the riots in France, the company had incorporated some prudence regarding the French market into its full-year outlook, and remained cautious about a possibly larger decline in the Middle East market amid the US-Iran war and the Saudi-Houthi war; France is Accor's largest market, accounting for 23% of global room revenue, of which the Paris region accounts for about 12%, the Middle East about 11%, the UAE about 4%, and Saudi Arabia about 5%. Some analysts believe Accor's implied guidance for the fourth quarter is on the conservative side. A November 3 report reiterated third-quarter revenue of €1.503 billion, growth of 7.7% at constant exchange rates, global RevPAR growth of 4.9%, occupancy up slightly by 0.1 percentage point to 70.6%, and average room rate up 4.7%, and stated that RevPAR in the Chinese market continues to come under pressure.

On 21 October 2026, the European Commission opened formal proceedings against Booking.com to assess whether it breached the Digital Services Act (DSA). The investigation focuses on: the platform not adequately assessing and mitigating the risks of fake listings and phishing scams; not clearly labelling listings that are paid to be boosted in search rankings as advertising; and the way booking and guest data is shared with accommodation providers and the design of the in-platform messaging service. If found in breach, this would involve DSA Articles 34, 35 and 26(1). The Commission stated that opening proceedings does not prejudge the final outcome and that it will prioritise an in-depth investigation. Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen said that Europeans should be able to book holidays without being scammed, and that Europe's leading booking platform must take its DSA responsibilities seriously. Follow-up reporting the same day further noted that the investigation focuses on non-existent listings, impersonation fraud, non-compliant accommodation products, and phishing risks in the platform's messaging service, and mentioned that very large online platforms that breach the DSA can be fined up to 6% of their global annual turnover.

On 19 October 2026, Amadeus Newsroom announced that the UK has launched contactless border clearance at 13 international airports, using the Amadeus Seamless Gates system. Eligible travellers do not need to scan their passports on entry: the system takes a photo as the traveller approaches the eGate and verifies it against immigration, travel and passport information; once verification passes, the gate opens; only when further checks are needed must the passport be placed down or the case be handled by UK Border Force personnel. East Midlands Airport has already gone live, and all eGates are planned to be upgraded by early 2027. The measure initially targets UK citizens, with a phased expansion to eligible foreign citizens later.

On October 22, 2026, IATA and OneVasco announced that OneVasco's visa concierge service will be integrated into IATA's Timatic Solutions. According to what the two parties published, travelers can check entry requirements in Timatic and then apply for visas directly. The current progress is that the two parties announced the cooperation and disclosed the integration arrangement; the report did not mention the specific launch time of the integration, a phased implementation plan, or the range of countries covered.

On October 20, 2026, the Amadeus Newsroom published an analysis by Amadeus Travel Intelligence, stating that during the BTS and BIGBANG 2026 Asia tours, flight bookings to Nagoya increased 100% year over year, Singapore increased 62%, and Bangkok increased 41%; the same report also stated that Singapore hotel occupancy increased 68%. This is currently the only report on this event, with no other sources or subsequent developments.