BEIRUT, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Activity at Lebanese travel agencies has fallen roughly 80 percent since the outbreak of the Hezbollah-Israel conflict, with most offices now confined to processing cancellations rather than selling new travel, the head of Lebanon's travel agency syndicate said Wednesday.

Jean Abboud, chairman of the Syndicate of Owners of Travel and Tourism Offices in Lebanon, warned that a prolonged conflict could push many agencies into bankruptcy, putting hundreds of jobs at risk in a sector already gutted by years of overlapping crises.

Now, he warned, a prolonged war could force many agencies to shut down entirely, leaving hundreds of workers unemployed.

Getting in and out of Lebanon by air has become increasingly difficult. Flights are now largely limited to Lebanon's national carrier, Middle East Airlines, with a handful of routes still served by Royal Jordanian and Turkish Airlines. Restricted airspace across the Middle East has forced airlines to reroute flights, driving up ticket prices by as much as 900 percent on some routes, Abboud said.

He offered no forecast for when the industry might recover, saying it depends entirely on when the regional fighting stops. ■