Expecting more of these stories in the future.

I know several schools in SE Asia that are actually going further and trying to restrict the travel of staff. One sent out a letter prohibiting staff from leaving the country until further notice.

The OP asks if they have a right to be pissed. The answer is yes.

PsyGuy's response is largely correct on a factual level, but the tone is problematic. The OP is the sole arbiter of their emotions, but third-party perspective can support the OP's displeasure at the school. If schools are making changes or instituting arbitrary rules (including rules that they have no contractual basis for), they are AT MINIMUM responsible for the consequences.

There's a school calendar. Staff are entitled to plan their travel around that. It's one thing if there are clear policies that can lead to schedule alterations (like "snow days") or if there's a government-mandated shift. But when schools just make things up when they go along, it's dicey. Is a school justified in firing a teacher because they flew home over a break in defiance of "orders" from above that were imposed long after they signed their contract? Or, if the teacher is willing to consider complying with orders shifting breaks or limiting travel, on what grounds can a school deny them compensation for the cost of compliance?

PsyGuy's answer that schools will deny compensation is probably right, but it's not a fait accompli if people join together and get a backbone. Part of being a teacher (or any good team member, I'd argue) is give and take. It's really iffy that a teacher should HAVE TO give into arbitrary schedule/rule changes. But if there's nothing offered in return (not even making them whole for the costs they incur), then there's no give and take.