Amid US-Israel war on Iran, Egyptians living in Gulf say they cannot afford to return home

Thousands of Egyptian migrant workers in Gulf countries are unable to return home in the wake of a decision by their country's national carrier, EgyptAir, to dramatically raise return ticket prices, soon after the US-Israeli war against Iran erupted.

The Egyptian national carrier, critics claim, raised the prices of return tickets from Gulf countries over five-fold.

"EgyptAir did [to Egyptians] what Israel couldn't do to Arabs," one angry expatriate posted on Facebook on 6 March, slamming the rise in the prices of the airline's return tickets.

He claimed that EgyptAir had raised the price of return tickets from Dubai to 165,000 Egyptian pounds (roughly $3,075), even as he did not mention the price of the tickets before the latest rise.

Millions of Egyptians live and work in other countries, especially in the Gulf region. These migrant workers send billions of dollars in remittances back home each year, constituting a critical lifeline for the Egyptian economy.

In 2025, Egyptian migrant workers sent $41.5 billion in remittances to their country, an amount of money that kept Egypt afloat as it suffered painful economic shocks from regional tensions, especially the Israeli war in Gaza.

However, Iranian retaliations on Gulf countries where there is heavy Egyptian presence threaten to cut this lifeline, with tens of thousands of Egyptians scrambling to return home for fear of being caught in the middle of intensifying Iranian attacks which have created a stampede of foreign workers out of the same countries.

Making things worse

Egyptians can be found in almost all the sectors of Gulf economies, from energy and construction to hospitality, services and health.

Egyptian teachers can be found in large numbers in the schools of Gulf countries, while doctors and nurses man most hospitals in these countries, along with others from other countries.

The roots of this heavy labour presence in the Gulf can be traced to the economic boom of the 1970s, which was driven by the rise in oil prices and the clamber of Gulf countries for foreign labour that could help put aspiring development plans into effect.

The Egyptians have an advantage, speaking the same language, and owning the academic and professional skills required for Gulf labour markets.

Nonetheless, these Egyptians' work prospects are now rendered uncertain by the widening scope of the war in Iran and Gulf countries being caught in the crossfire of this war.

This uncertainty adds to losses from the war to the Egyptian economy which expects to receive painful blows in the coming period, local economists warn.

Israel has already suspended its natural gas supplies to Egypt, which make up 15-20% of the populous, energy-hungry Arab country's daily consumption of 6.2 billion.

The Suez Canal, a vital lifeline of the Egyptian economy, also expects to be affected by the war, especially if the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen decides to jump into the fray and stage attacks either in the Red Sea or in the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

There are also fears that the tourism sector, a major contributor of foreign currency, can be negatively affected as regional tensions escalate.

Leading economist Rashad Abdo said the war is opening the door for all types of economic ills.

"The disruption of supply chains will negatively affect local production, which will in turn raise prices in the local market and consequently the inflation rate," Abdo, a professor of economics at Helwan University, told The New Arab.

He expected the Egyptian stock exchange, the tourism sector, maritime shipping and the Suez Canal to witness immediate impacts from the war.

Such fears are shared by Egyptian officials at the highest level, including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who on March 8 warned, almost for the second time in less than a week, against the prospect of severe economic effects on his country from the war, if it drags on for long.

'A responsibility towards Egyptians'

The sudden surge in the prices of the return tickets adds to this gloomy atmosphere.

Some Egyptian migrant workers accuse the national carrier of shirking its responsibility for the repatriation of Egyptians from areas where there are emergencies.

"We are not against the company, but it doesn't need to make profit on such occasions," another furious expatriate wrote on Facebook on 6 March about EgyptAir's decision to raise the prices of its return tickets.

"As a national institution, it has responsibility towards Egyptians," he added.

EgyptAir has countered by saying that information circulating about raising ticket prices is not accurate and misrepresents its policies in these exceptional circumstances.

It added in a statement that it has operated limited emergency flights to Gulf countries to repatriate Egyptians with prior reservations.

Vacant seats on these flights, it said, are very limited, not exceeding 5% of the total number of seats.

The company noted that it evaluates tickets for those limited vacant seats in the light of current market prices, especially after the rise in insurance costs.

However, some people have accused the airline of cancelling the reservations they made weeks ago and then offering the same tickets for higher prices.

A female expatriate said she reserved a return ticket a month ago, but was notified by the company on the day scheduled for her travel that the flight had been cancelled.

She found a short time later that the airline had offered tickets on the same flight for a higher price.

Meanwhile, the rise in the prices of return tickets is encouraging Egyptians to think of land routes as alternatives.

Some people advise compatriots returning from Gulf countries to drive to Saudi Arabia, and then to Jordan before boarding a ferry through the Gulf of Aqaba on the way to Egypt, a journey that can take between from one to two days.

The difficulties Egyptians face in returning to their country are also fuelling debates in the Egyptian parliament where MPs call for opening an investigation into the ticket pricing policies of the national carrier.

MP Maha Abdel Nasser said she had tabled a parliamentary question about the decision of the national carrier to sharply raise the price of return tickets from Gulf countries.

"Such a decision has shocked Egyptians who want to return home," Abdel Nasser told TNA.

She added that the parliamentary question she had tabled mainly aims to force the government and the administration of the company to offer clarifications.

"As a national carrier, EgyptAir has responsibility to repatriate Egyptians at times of emergency," Abdel Nasser said.