War in Middle East paralyses international travel: Foreign Office issues new advice to British travellers as British Airways and easyJet cancel flights

The Foreign Office has issued new advice for Britons heading to the Middle East as the Iran war paralyzes international travel; easyJet and British Airways have announced a number of cancellations.

More than a thousand flights to Dubai, Israel, Doha, Abu Dhabi and other regional hubs were canceled after the United States and Israel launched a coordinated attack on Iran; This led to retaliatory attacks on American allies in the region.

Popular destination Cyprus now affected by EasyJet axing Two outbound and two outbound flights connecting Paphos to Gatwick and Manchester, and one outbound and one outward flight between Larnaca and Gatwick.

EasyJet said it took this decision in response to Iran’s drone attacks on RAF Akrotiri near Limassol, but said its flights tomorrow ‘currently continue as planned’.

British Airways also canceled its flight to Larnaca today and the airline said it was “monitoring the situation closely”.

The UK Foreign Office has advised against travel to all countries currently under attack. United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Train.

While Iran continues its retaliatory attacks after the airstrike that killed Religious Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday, the British who are already in these countries were called to ‘shelter in place immediately’.

Unsurprisingly, the UK government currently advises against all travel to Iran and Israel. It has also updated its guidance for Brits traveling to Cyprus, Egypt and Türkiye.

The Foreign Office is currently urging Britons flying to Cyprus to ‘take sensible precautions’ and follow the advice of local authorities.

The UK government advises against travel to parts of Egypt, including the North Sinai Governorate, and areas within 20km of the Egypt-Libya border, except for the town of Al Salloum, where it encourages all but essential travel.

Authorities advise holidaymakers hoping to go to Türkiye not to travel ‘within 10 km of the Syrian border’ due to ‘war and increased terrorism risk’.

The closure of airspace in the Middle East has led to the halting of many commercial flights since the attacks began on Saturday.

More than a third of flights scheduled to depart from the UK to the region on Monday have been cancelled.

Analytics firm Cirium said 49 out of 144 flights were cancelled.

Nearly half a million passengers use airports in Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi every day.

UK-based aviation consultant John Strickland said the outage was ‘pretty unprecedented’.

He said: ‘Gulf carriers are now essential to much of global aviation, particularly east-west flows between Europe and Asia.

‘I don’t remember a situation before – other than a pandemic – where we disabled these Gulf centers in this way.

‘We’ve had other conflicts in the region, but I don’t think it’s actually on the scale of military conflict or the scale of activity that we have now with carriers in the Gulf.’

Mr Strickland said ‘hundreds of thousands of people’ should not be there in Dubai or other hub airports in the Middle East.

He said flight options to Asia for travelers in Europe who want to avoid the Middle East include using airlines that fly directly to countries such as Thailand and Singapore.

But he warned there was ‘not much space’ on these flights as most seats are usually booked and airlines have ‘very little spare capacity’.

Mr Strickland added: ‘There is uncertainty about how long this will last. ‘It’s all a really complex web and a mess.’

Jets taking off from the RAF base in the south of the island

The State Department warns that failure to follow its advice could void your insurance.

According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, you can request a refund if your flight was canceled following the outbreak of conflict.

The official says: ‘IIf you chose this option you will need to confirm this with your airline. The airline must refund you within 7 days.’

It comes as authorities continue to draw up plans for one of the largest peacetime evacuations to rescue British expats stranded in the Middle East.

Nearly 102,000 Britons have registered with the Foreign Office as the UK prepares plans for one of the largest peacetime evacuations of its citizens.

These include an army of influencers in Dubai, but some have vowed to continue claiming Dubai is safer than London despite a wave of Iranian missile strikes and suicide drone attacks on military installations, oil refineries, airports and hotels.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said today that there are around 300 thousand British citizens in the Gulf countries targeted by Iran.

It is understood 94,000 of them are already registered with the Foreign Office and Sir Keir Starmer and his ministers are preparing contingency plans to evacuate them by land from the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar to Saudi Arabia.

With Iranian missiles and drones still arriving, Emirates Airlines has confirmed that all flights via Dubai have been grounded by 11am GMT on Tuesday at the earliest. Qatar Airways also said no flights would leave Doha until Tuesday morning at the earliest.

Chaos at airports in the Gulf, including Dubai, as Iran responds with drone and missile attacks, leaving 102,000 Britons stranded in a region home to 300,000 (pictured)

British citizens have been told to log their location but stay put for now. The UK Government has advised against travel to 21 countries in the Middle East and wider region.

Downing Street said today the Government was ‘considering all options’.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘We are working on every possible option, we want solutions and of course we want the airspace to reopen so people can return to normal flights again.

‘We are in contact with the travel industry, airports and governments in the region. The situation is evolving very quickly and it is important that we only provide updates when we have a clear picture and full information to provide.

‘That’s why we’re currently advising people in these areas to follow shelter-in-place safety advice. But as I said, we’re looking at all options.’

The Prime Minister’s spokesman added that the ‘intense escalation’ in the region had seen ‘increasingly reckless attacks by the Iranian regime on its Gulf allies, including attacks on bases, airports and hotels that put British lives at direct risk’.

He continued: ‘The safety and security of British citizens remains this Government’s top priority; The State Department provided 24/7 consular support to assist those who needed assistance in the field.

‘The situation is evolving rapidly. We know that people up and down the country will be deeply concerned about the scale of this crisis, especially British citizens who are currently in the region, including holidaymakers and transit passengers who have been told to shelter in place.

‘We are sending rapid deployment teams to the region to work with the travel industry and local authorities to ensure citizens can receive support. We want people to get home safely as quickly as possible.

‘Given the number of people involved, it is really important that we only notify people when we have provided full information.’

Organizers of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix say they are confident the event will not be disrupted by travel chaos, despite many staff having to rearrange flights.