Aussie travellers warned amid significant backlog of passengers to the Middle East
There is a significant backlog of passengers as commercial flights from Australia to Qatar in the Middle East resume.
This comes after Qatar closed its airspace earlier this week as a result of Iran attacking a US base in the country, which caused significant disruptions, cancellations, and diversions.
The Australian government is still advising caution through the Smartraveller website, saying in the most recent update: 'Closure of airspace around transit hubs in the Middle East may impact flights globally. It may cause flight delays and cancellations.
'Your travel plans may be affected, even if your destination is not in the Middle East. Contact your travel agent or airline to confirm your plans.
'If you travel to or through the Middle East, you may be unable to leave if conflict escalates.'
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The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Cancellations, delays, reroutes: the Middle East conflict is changing flying
Cancellations, delays, and reroutes have continued for Australian travellers despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The Middle East is a vital transit point for flights from Australia with some carriers altering flight paths to remain a safe distance from any instability. Carriers have also offered free booking changes and cancellations. The airspace around Iran and Iraq has been empty of air traffic since Israel began strikes on Iran on June 13, leading to widespread flight diversions. On June 23, Qatar briefly also closed its airspace before Iran fired missiles at a US military base in the country. Doha is second only to Dubai for passenger numbers in the Gulf. University of Sydney professor Rico Merkert told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, that the closure wreaked havoc on travel plans. "The incident at the US airbase in Qatar has resulted in the airspace of essentially the entire Middle East being shut for almost a day, which caused temporary chaos in the flight networks of the impacted airlines, especially Qatar Airways, Emirates, flydubai, Etihad, but also other international airlines flying to that region such as British Airways or Singapore Airlines," he said. Professor Merkert said substantial commercial traffic goes through mega hubs in the Middle East, like Doha Hamad International Airport. "These hubs are to passenger airlines what the Strait of Hormuz is to oil tanker operations, extremely critical," he said. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australians should seek updates from airlines and follow Smartraveller for the most up-to-date advice and warnings. Smartraveller said "closure of airspace around transit hubs in the Middle East may impact flights globally". "It may cause flight delays and cancellations," an alert said. READ MORE: 'It depends where you live': how the Middle East conflict affects bowser prices "Your travel plans may be affected, even if your destination is not in the Middle East." The travel advisory group urges people to contact their airline to confirm flights and check cancellation policies. Australian Travel Industry Association CEO Dean Long said there was a higher level of anxiety amongst Australian travellers at the moment but airlines were not seeing cancellations above a normal rate. He said it would take another couple of days for flights to return to a more normal rhythm after the closure of the Qatar airspace. Virgin Australia's scheduled services to and from Doha, operated by Qatar Airways, are back to normal after the June 24 chaos, the airline said. "We encourage guests scheduled to travel on Virgin Australia services between Australia and Doha in the coming days to monitor their flight information closely," a spokesperson told ACM. "We are offering free booking changes or cancellations to guests who are booked on Virgin Australia's Doha services with onward connections in the coming days (up to and including 30 June 2025) and no longer wish to travel." A spokesperson for Qantas told ACM it was monitoring the situation closely but there was "no material impact expected for today's Qantas flights between Australia and Europe". "We have a number of flight path options that we utilise for our flights to Europe, and these are reviewed regularly based on factors including weather and security," a spokesperson said. "We proactively alter our flight paths if needed based on changes in these conditions." Cancellations, delays, and reroutes have continued for Australian travellers despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The Middle East is a vital transit point for flights from Australia with some carriers altering flight paths to remain a safe distance from any instability. Carriers have also offered free booking changes and cancellations. The airspace around Iran and Iraq has been empty of air traffic since Israel began strikes on Iran on June 13, leading to widespread flight diversions. On June 23, Qatar briefly also closed its airspace before Iran fired missiles at a US military base in the country. Doha is second only to Dubai for passenger numbers in the Gulf. University of Sydney professor Rico Merkert told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, that the closure wreaked havoc on travel plans. "The incident at the US airbase in Qatar has resulted in the airspace of essentially the entire Middle East being shut for almost a day, which caused temporary chaos in the flight networks of the impacted airlines, especially Qatar Airways, Emirates, flydubai, Etihad, but also other international airlines flying to that region such as British Airways or Singapore Airlines," he said. Professor Merkert said substantial commercial traffic goes through mega hubs in the Middle East, like Doha Hamad International Airport. "These hubs are to passenger airlines what the Strait of Hormuz is to oil tanker operations, extremely critical," he said. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australians should seek updates from airlines and follow Smartraveller for the most up-to-date advice and warnings. Smartraveller said "closure of airspace around transit hubs in the Middle East may impact flights globally". "It may cause flight delays and cancellations," an alert said. READ MORE: 'It depends where you live': how the Middle East conflict affects bowser prices "Your travel plans may be affected, even if your destination is not in the Middle East." The travel advisory group urges people to contact their airline to confirm flights and check cancellation policies. Australian Travel Industry Association CEO Dean Long said there was a higher level of anxiety amongst Australian travellers at the moment but airlines were not seeing cancellations above a normal rate. He said it would take another couple of days for flights to return to a more normal rhythm after the closure of the Qatar airspace. Virgin Australia's scheduled services to and from Doha, operated by Qatar Airways, are back to normal after the June 24 chaos, the airline said. "We encourage guests scheduled to travel on Virgin Australia services between Australia and Doha in the coming days to monitor their flight information closely," a spokesperson told ACM. "We are offering free booking changes or cancellations to guests who are booked on Virgin Australia's Doha services with onward connections in the coming days (up to and including 30 June 2025) and no longer wish to travel." A spokesperson for Qantas told ACM it was monitoring the situation closely but there was "no material impact expected for today's Qantas flights between Australia and Europe". "We have a number of flight path options that we utilise for our flights to Europe, and these are reviewed regularly based on factors including weather and security," a spokesperson said. "We proactively alter our flight paths if needed based on changes in these conditions." Cancellations, delays, and reroutes have continued for Australian travellers despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The Middle East is a vital transit point for flights from Australia with some carriers altering flight paths to remain a safe distance from any instability. Carriers have also offered free booking changes and cancellations. The airspace around Iran and Iraq has been empty of air traffic since Israel began strikes on Iran on June 13, leading to widespread flight diversions. On June 23, Qatar briefly also closed its airspace before Iran fired missiles at a US military base in the country. Doha is second only to Dubai for passenger numbers in the Gulf. University of Sydney professor Rico Merkert told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, that the closure wreaked havoc on travel plans. "The incident at the US airbase in Qatar has resulted in the airspace of essentially the entire Middle East being shut for almost a day, which caused temporary chaos in the flight networks of the impacted airlines, especially Qatar Airways, Emirates, flydubai, Etihad, but also other international airlines flying to that region such as British Airways or Singapore Airlines," he said. Professor Merkert said substantial commercial traffic goes through mega hubs in the Middle East, like Doha Hamad International Airport. "These hubs are to passenger airlines what the Strait of Hormuz is to oil tanker operations, extremely critical," he said. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australians should seek updates from airlines and follow Smartraveller for the most up-to-date advice and warnings. Smartraveller said "closure of airspace around transit hubs in the Middle East may impact flights globally". "It may cause flight delays and cancellations," an alert said. READ MORE: 'It depends where you live': how the Middle East conflict affects bowser prices "Your travel plans may be affected, even if your destination is not in the Middle East." The travel advisory group urges people to contact their airline to confirm flights and check cancellation policies. Australian Travel Industry Association CEO Dean Long said there was a higher level of anxiety amongst Australian travellers at the moment but airlines were not seeing cancellations above a normal rate. He said it would take another couple of days for flights to return to a more normal rhythm after the closure of the Qatar airspace. Virgin Australia's scheduled services to and from Doha, operated by Qatar Airways, are back to normal after the June 24 chaos, the airline said. "We encourage guests scheduled to travel on Virgin Australia services between Australia and Doha in the coming days to monitor their flight information closely," a spokesperson told ACM. "We are offering free booking changes or cancellations to guests who are booked on Virgin Australia's Doha services with onward connections in the coming days (up to and including 30 June 2025) and no longer wish to travel." A spokesperson for Qantas told ACM it was monitoring the situation closely but there was "no material impact expected for today's Qantas flights between Australia and Europe". "We have a number of flight path options that we utilise for our flights to Europe, and these are reviewed regularly based on factors including weather and security," a spokesperson said. "We proactively alter our flight paths if needed based on changes in these conditions." Cancellations, delays, and reroutes have continued for Australian travellers despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The Middle East is a vital transit point for flights from Australia with some carriers altering flight paths to remain a safe distance from any instability. Carriers have also offered free booking changes and cancellations. The airspace around Iran and Iraq has been empty of air traffic since Israel began strikes on Iran on June 13, leading to widespread flight diversions. On June 23, Qatar briefly also closed its airspace before Iran fired missiles at a US military base in the country. Doha is second only to Dubai for passenger numbers in the Gulf. University of Sydney professor Rico Merkert told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, that the closure wreaked havoc on travel plans. "The incident at the US airbase in Qatar has resulted in the airspace of essentially the entire Middle East being shut for almost a day, which caused temporary chaos in the flight networks of the impacted airlines, especially Qatar Airways, Emirates, flydubai, Etihad, but also other international airlines flying to that region such as British Airways or Singapore Airlines," he said. Professor Merkert said substantial commercial traffic goes through mega hubs in the Middle East, like Doha Hamad International Airport. "These hubs are to passenger airlines what the Strait of Hormuz is to oil tanker operations, extremely critical," he said. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australians should seek updates from airlines and follow Smartraveller for the most up-to-date advice and warnings. Smartraveller said "closure of airspace around transit hubs in the Middle East may impact flights globally". "It may cause flight delays and cancellations," an alert said. READ MORE: 'It depends where you live': how the Middle East conflict affects bowser prices "Your travel plans may be affected, even if your destination is not in the Middle East." The travel advisory group urges people to contact their airline to confirm flights and check cancellation policies. Australian Travel Industry Association CEO Dean Long said there was a higher level of anxiety amongst Australian travellers at the moment but airlines were not seeing cancellations above a normal rate. He said it would take another couple of days for flights to return to a more normal rhythm after the closure of the Qatar airspace. Virgin Australia's scheduled services to and from Doha, operated by Qatar Airways, are back to normal after the June 24 chaos, the airline said. "We encourage guests scheduled to travel on Virgin Australia services between Australia and Doha in the coming days to monitor their flight information closely," a spokesperson told ACM. "We are offering free booking changes or cancellations to guests who are booked on Virgin Australia's Doha services with onward connections in the coming days (up to and including 30 June 2025) and no longer wish to travel." A spokesperson for Qantas told ACM it was monitoring the situation closely but there was "no material impact expected for today's Qantas flights between Australia and Europe". "We have a number of flight path options that we utilise for our flights to Europe, and these are reviewed regularly based on factors including weather and security," a spokesperson said. "We proactively alter our flight paths if needed based on changes in these conditions."
Sky News AU
7 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Aussie travellers warned amid significant backlog of passengers to the Middle East
There is a significant backlog of passengers as commercial flights from Australia to Qatar in the Middle East resume. This comes after Qatar closed its airspace earlier this week as a result of Iran attacking a US base in the country, which caused significant disruptions, cancellations, and diversions. The Australian government is still advising caution through the Smartraveller website, saying in the most recent update: 'Closure of airspace around transit hubs in the Middle East may impact flights globally. It may cause flight delays and cancellations. 'Your travel plans may be affected, even if your destination is not in the Middle East. Contact your travel agent or airline to confirm your plans. 'If you travel to or through the Middle East, you may be unable to leave if conflict escalates.'
9 News
10 hours ago
- 9 News
Flights delayed as severe winds batter coast
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Strong winds are continuing to lash parts of the Australian coast today, with some flights out of Sydney already delayed or cancelled. The low-pressure system is already delivering severe winds and rain to multiple states. The winds have swept across NSW this morning, already impacting flight operations at Sydney Airport. The cold air mass moved over much of Australia yesterday. (Weatherzone) "Due to high winds, airport operations may be affected throughout the day," a spokesperson for the airport said. "We recommend passengers check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport and we thank passengers for their patience and understanding." Qantas said it was doing everything it could to avoid delays, while Virgin said some flights had been cancelled due to the winds. North-westerly winds are expected to reach between 20km/h and 30km/h this morning, and will increase to 35km/h before easing this afternoon, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. In south-eastern Sydney, winds could reach as strong as 50km/h to 60km/h, with damaging gusts up to 90km/h. Sydney will see a high of 18 degrees today and a low of 12 degrees. Sydney winds are delaying flights at the airport. (Nine) There are also severe wind warnings in place for the Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Tablelands and parts of Mid North Coast, Hunter, Metropolitan, Central Tablelands, South West Slopes, Snowy Mountains, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Tablelands Forecast Districts. Winds in those regional areas are expected to reach up to 65km/h with gusts over 90km/h. Newcastle, Wollongong, Goulburn, Nowra, Batemans Bay and Katoomba will all be impacted. South Australia will also continue to see strong winds this morning, following on from yesterday's wild weather. Severe wind warnings are still in place, particularly for those on the coast, including Kangaroo Island and Goolwa. Severe wind warnings are still in place in SA, particularly for those on the coast. (Nine) A small amount of rain is also expected today, following heavy rains and flooding in South Australia yesterday and overnight. The Adelaide Hills region saw 25mm to 30mm of rain while the CBD saw about 10mm. The State Emergency Service received 100 calls for help as trees fell and some areas flooded. The ACT will also experience strong winds and near-freezing conditions, with temperatures as low as 1 degree this morning, and a high of 8 degrees. Victoria will also be impacted by strong and damaging winds, specifically the East Gippsland, North East, West and South Gippsland, Central and North Central Forecast Districts. Winds in East Gippsland are expected to hit 60km/h with damaging gusts up to 90km/h. There will also be 5mm to 15mm of rainfall today, as well as abnormally high tides for the entire Victorian coastline. The windy weather across all states is expected to continue across Australia's southern states until later today, with conditions forecast to ease by tomorrow. national New South Wales Sydney South Australia Adelaide Weather CONTACT US Auto news:Is this the next Subaru WRX? Mysterious performance car teased.
