Urgent travel warnings to Aussies as chaos grounds Middle East flights

Iranian strikes on Dubai and across the Middle East have created global travel chaos, with thousands of Australians still stranded overseas.

At least two drones hit Dubai’s airport on Sunday, with tourist and traveller hotspots including the Burj Al Arab and Palm Jumeirah hotels also struck in the attack.

It comes after the US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The conflict has triggered global travel chaos and fresh warnings from the Australian government, with an estimated 115,000 Australians in the region.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong told the ABC on Monday that conditions in the region had made it difficult for the government to provide assistance.

“Our first priority is to do everything we can to keep Australians safe,” Ms Wong said.

“Obviously, it’s very difficult at the moment for government to provide a great deal of assistance in circumstances where flights are being cancelled, disrupted and airspace is closed.

“What I have done this morning, in addition to Iran and Israel, I have directed my department to open the Foreign Affairs and Trade portal, which is where people can register and get timely updates for the UAE and for Qatar.”

Ms Wong said the issue with getting Australians out of the region is the lack of commercial flights.

“At the moment the issue is not who is flying, it’s that people are not flying,” she said.

“We know that this is a very volatile situation, I can understand the distress and fear that many Australians are feeling – those that are in the region but also families.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles said stranded Australians would likely be able to get commercial flights before the government organised emergency repatriation flights.

He told the ABC on Monday morning that commercial airlines should have seats on offer for Australians trying to flee to safety once the current airspace closures end.

“The question that people are asking of course is, ‘Is there going to be some form of repatriation flights?’ ... the fundamental issue right now is that the airspace is closed, so there are no flights at all,” Mr Marles said.

“While we’re engaging in contingency planning, I won’t speculate about that other than to say that ... once the airspace reopens, I would expect actually that it’s more likely commercial flights are in a position to operate in the most expeditious way.

“But we will continue to advise people through those channels of the circumstances of what we’re doing.”

Flights cancelled, Aussies stranded

Dubai International airport has cancelled at least 1200 flights, with Emirates and Etihad being the hardest-hit airlines.

Emirates confirmed via X it had temporarily suspended all operations to and from Dubai, up until 3pm UAE time on Monday.

“We are actively monitoring the situation and engaging with relevant authorities,” Emirates said.

“We apologise to customers affected by disruptions for any inconvenience caused.”

In a statement posted to X, Etihad Airways said: “The situation remains dynamic and schedules may change at short notice.

“Etihad continues to work in close co-ordination with the relevant authorities and will resume normal operations as soon as conditions permit.”

Five flights between Sydney and Dubai have been cancelled, and a further seven between Melbourne and Dubai.

Sydney Airport has cancelled five flights in and out of Dubai. a further seven have been canned in Melbourne.

A Dubai airport spokesperson confirmed four staff had been injured in the strike, but said most of the terminals had already been cleared of passengers prior to the incident.

“Emergency response teams were immediately deployed and are managing the situation in co-ordination with the relevant authorities,” they said.

“Four staff sustained injuries and received prompt medical attention. Due to contingency plans already in place, most of the terminals were previously cleared of passengers.”

International flights in and out of Tel Aviv, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and other major travel hubs were also suspended due to the conflict.

Australians needing government assistance are urged to register with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which has activated its 24/7 Crisis Centre to provide consular support to those in the region.

DFAT has also opened a crisis portal to support Australians in Israel and Iran.

Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen have all been listed on Smartraveller’s ‘do not travel’ list.

Australians were also urged to reconsider travel to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia.