Global flight chaos as Iran attacks Qatar

News.com.au

3 days ago

Global airlines have suspended or reduced flights in the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran rages after the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites at the weekend.
The United States carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear sites overnight Saturday to Sunday after over a week of deadly missile exchanges between Israel and Iran.
Flights in and out of Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest airport, were temporarily suspended and the United Arab Emirates closed its airspace as a precautionary measure.
However, Dubai Airports later said that it had resumed operations after a brief flight suspension, the Dubai Media Office posted on X.
Dozens of Gulf-bound flights on several commercial airlines were diverted en route to safer airports in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, India and Belgium, including those from London and Zurich to destinations like Dubai and Qatar, based on data from aviation consultant Cirium.
Singapore Airlines has cancelled eight flights to Dubai -- two per day from Sunday through Wednesday.
Australians warned
Australians who are travelling to Europe this peak summer season via the Middle East had been warned of airspace closures, flight cancellations and other travel disruptions amid the Iran-Israel conflict.
Travel insurance is also expected to become more expensive for Aussies with connecting flights in the region.
It is terrible timing for Virgin Australia and its customers as the airline only just returned to international long-haul flying with the launch of its Sydney-Doha and Brisbane-Doha flights in partnership with Qatar Airways on June 12 and June 19. Perth-Doha services are scheduled to take off June 26, and Melbourne-Doha will join in December.
Smartraveller, which is run by the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), raised the advice level for Qatar to 'exercise a high degree of caution' last week.
Dubai, UAE, and Doha, Qatar, are both aviation hubs for connecting flights into Europe, but Smartraveller now warns: 'the security situation in the Middle East is unpredictable and could deteriorate further with little warning'.
Tim Bennett, an insurance expert at Finder, told news.com.au that travel insurance providers 'pay very close attention' to Smartraveller's advice levels, and this will directly impact what is covered in tourists' policies and the premiums they are likely to pay.
'Travel insurance is probably going to be more expensive now if your trip runs through Qatar, or frankly anywhere in the Middle East,' Mr Bennett said.
'Travel insurance companies base their premiums on the risk of your trip, and a higher Smartraveller alert level is a good indicator of an increase in risk.'
However, he said while it may be more costly, fortunately most insurance companies would still offer cover at this advice level.
'Some insurers may introduce exclusions for claims you can make if you take out cover after the alert level has changed, but you'll generally still be covered for most things,' Mr Bennett said. 'Times like these are when you actually need to read your policy documents.'
He added that your plane being diverted to another destination shouldn't affect your ability to make a claim, even if you end up in a country with a high travel warning, as the cover is based on a planned itinerary. Although, Mr Bennett suggested getting cover as soon as possible.
Australian aviation expert Keith Tonkin told news.com.au that a country can decide to close its airspace at any time, and it can take effect immediately — meaning aircraft may need to divert midair.
'That might be the entire airspace of the country or it might just be a certain part of the airspace where they want to do something like fire missiles into the sky or conduct some operation where they don't want civilian aircraft flying through the airspace,' he explained.
Even if the airspace is not closed, Mr Tonkin said there are hazards that may need to be avoided, such as other aircraft flying through the space to deliver weapons.
Airspace closures themselves can be 'very disruptive' and have 'significant implications'. Even if flights are not landing in a country with a closed airspace, the aircraft may need to change its flight path to avoid the area, and this could result in flights needing to divert to get more fuel to make it to their final destination.
'One of the interesting things is that we now have several different airspace volumes not available to fly through at the moment because of the war in Ukraine, what's happening in the Middle East, and Pakistan-India, there's a situation there where Pakistan closes airspace for a little while because they're fighting — a lot of aeroplanes are getting condensed into less airspace,' Mr Tonkin said.
'There are fewer flight routes available for them to fly through, so there's a bit of congestion, more aeroplanes being processed by air traffic controllers that they would not have been doing in the past. The system is being pressured where those aeroplanes are now being diverted through different airspace.'
He said this leads to flight delays and increased costs with aircraft having to fly further and burn more fuel.
Australian Travel Industry Association Dean Long said Australians flying to Europe via the Middle East should be prepared for some delays, but urged travellers to not cancel their flights.
'Travellers shouldn't panic or cancel unnecessarily,' Mr Long said.
'The one thing we learned through Covid is don't cancel as it reduces the number of rights you have. Let the airline make that decision. This approach ensures your rights are protected and you get the support you need.'
Mr Long asked travellers not to contact their travel agent or airline unless they are travelling in the next three days so that the needs of those travelling immediately could be accommodated as a priority.
Virgin Australia said the Iran-Israel conflict had not yet impacted their services.
The airline said if a change is required, Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways would 'work together on identifying safe alternatives and will ensure guests remain well-informed of any impacts'.
In an update on Monday, Qatar Airways told news.com.au there would be 'some schedule changes to strengthen the connectivity in Doha'.
'We are continuously monitoring and assessing the situation, and reacting in real-time to ensure we operate under the safest conditions possible at all times,' the airline said.
'We have some of the best people in the business working behind the scenes to keep our network strong and secure, and to ensure we remain the airline you can trust and rely on.'
Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways did not answer questions from news.com.au about where flights from Australia would be diverted if necessary.
Airlines worldwide are closely monitoring the Middle East. On Sunday, Singapore Airlines cancelled flights between Singapore and Dubai and British Airways cancelled flights to and from Dubai and Doha.