A blanket travel warning for Australian Travelers has been issued by the Australian Government covering the entire Middle East Region. This comes in the wake of the military strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran, and the subsequent retaliations by Iran on neighboring countries. As with any global conflict that will result in a travel warning issued by Government authorities, I will continue to keep this article updated as events unfold.
With the entire Middle East in a volatile state right now, a blanket travel warning has been issued for all Australian travelers.
The latest travel advice on SmartTraveller lists the majority of countries in the Middle East as “Do Not Travel” These countries include Iran, Iraq, Syria, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine. If you are planning to travel to or via any of these countries in the near future, then it is advised to seriously reconsider your plans.
Other countries in the region are listed as “Reconsider your need to travel”, including Saudi Arabia, Oman and Jordan.
What you should do
Basically, at this stage you should consider your options.
If you are travelling in the next 48 hours, then contact your travel agent or the airline to find out your options.
If you are travelling in the next 72 hours or longer then sit and wait until your airline contacts you. If they don’t and your departure is getting closer than contact them yourself.
Why?
Because of two reasons.
First – The airline is up to date with everything and are all over the warnings and how it affects their airline. They MAY be able to divert away from the Middle East and fly via another hub. This would take time to organize however, so is only a maybe.
The Second reason is one to take careful note of and that is your rights and travel insurance. Most travel insurance WILL NOT COVER war and conflict such as is happening in the Middle East right now. If you cancel your own flight, then it is highly likely that you’ll find that you ARE NOT covered. If, however, the airline cancels your ticket then that’s a different story. Much as happened during Covid.
The important thing is to not be hasty and make relevant enquiries first. Travel Warnings are put in place for a reason and give you the time and heads up you need to make informed decisions.
Keep in mind that at this stage it is only the Middle East that is affected for now. This could change and I will keep this article updated with the travel warning for Australian travelers as the situation develops.
Is it Safe to Travel to Europe Right Now?
At this stage it is safe to travel to Europe.
There is still a travel warning in place for Australian Travelers for Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, and a high degree of caution to be taken if heading to Turkey. Remember that Turkey does border countries such as Iran and Iraq, so this has to be taken into account, even if the country itself is not directly involved in the conflict.
The issue that most travelers will have when heading to Europe is that the majority of flights will connect through the major hubs of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Qatar. Airlines such as Emirates, Qatar and Etihad will be directly affected, as at the time of writing this all those hubs are completely shut down. All flights are suspended.
Options will arise as airlines divert and plan to fly via Asian hubs such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Hong Kong. This can take time to organize though as there has to be landing slots and a lot of red tape to wade through.
The safest option is to fly with airlines such as Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, EVA Air or THAI, amongst others, as these are all based in South East Asia and fly to Europe without going near the Middle East.
Is it Safe to Travel to Vietnam Right Now?
There is no current travel warning in place for Vietnam.
Traveling to South East Asia is considered as normal right now, and Vietnam is a destination that is considered safe for travelers that take the normal precautions that are necessary for travel.
Is it Safe to Travel to Bali Right Now?
Indonesia is rated on SmartTraveller as “Exercise a High Degree of Caution”.
This is normal for Indonesia, and Bali itself is considered a safer destination as it is away from the majority of the issues and unrest that can occur in other areas of Indonesia.
I would advise to take your normal precautions when traveling to Bali, however personally I would recommend traveling to Bali, Vietnam or Malaysia over heading anywhere else right now in this current political environment.
REMEMBER that one of the essential reasons that there is a travel warning for Australian Travelers, and any other travelers right now is the fear of retaliatory strikes, protests and unrest in other countries. This can include seemingly “safe” countries and can even happen at home in Australia.
Key Updates
UPDATE 4th March – Announcements today that a flight is planned to leave Dubai for Sydney this morning. This could change at any moment due to the hostile climate.
At present there are an estimated 24,000 Australians stranded in the UAE with approximately 115,000 stranded in the Middle East. All efforts are being made to evacuate them however the situation in the region is making it difficult.
Several affected airlines are now offering passengers the option of a free change of flight if the original flight was scheduled between the 28th February and the 10th March and cancelled or suspended due to the Middle East conflict. Contact your airline to find out more.
