Australians stranded in Middle East by Iran war consider travel options

Australians stranded in the Middle East are flying via destinations as far away as South Africa to get back home after the Iran war forced the closure of crucial airspace in the region and limited options for flights.

Those unable or unwilling to wait for the resumption of air travel are finding alternative routes to leave the region which is home to a vital corridor linking Australasia to Europe accounting for 11 per cent of global air travel.

Mark Trim, founder of Adelaide-based Complex Travel Group, said travellers who had long-haul flights from Europe or Africa through the Middle East were rebooking via Asia at significantly higher price points, and seat availability was moving quickly at a premium.

His company has been making alternative arrangements for travellers in nations in the region where airspace is open such as Saudi Arabia or Oman but who had affected flights on Emirates or Qatar Airways.

“Some are flying out through Johannesburg, and home on Qantas from there,” Trim said. “We just re-booked some clients in Cairo on that routing.”

Since Israel and the US began attacking Iran on Saturday evening (AEDT), 12,903 of the 32,003 flights that were scheduled to arrive or depart from the Middle East – or 40 per cent – had been cancelled, according to flight analytics data company Cirium.

At any time, about 11,000 Australians are transiting through the region, which is a hub for Emirates, Virgin Australia’s partner Qatar Airways, and Etihad. Five Emirates A380s departed Dubai for Europe and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday morning, Flightradar24 posted on X.

Travellers caught out by the military strikes during their transfer are unable to fly out of the war-affected part of the Middle East.

The Oman option

Some travellers are planning to cross land borders to countries such as Saudi Arabia and Oman, on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula, southeast of Iran, where flights to leave the region can be boarded.

Cirium’s Asia editor Ellis Taylor said “Muscat [in Oman] has the potential to offer a way out of the Middle East for some passengers who are willing to take land transport from neighbouring countries”. Oman Air operates flights to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta that “could offer a way back to for Australian travellers”, he said.

Oman also has flights to Phuket and Manila, but not to Singapore, he said.

Anthony Goldman, a joint managing director of the Melbourne-based Goldman Travel Group, also said Muscat was a possibility, “if you want to drive in the middle of a situation”.

Another scenario to leave the Middle East is for people in the island nation of Bahrain to travel by land to neighbouring Saudi Arabia, fly to the Indian cities of Delhi or Mumbai and transit from there.

“There are plenty of options; you’ve just got to be creative and be prepared to spend the extra money.”

Online travel agency Webjet said that in the past few days, “we have seen travellers opting to redirect through Asian hubs such as Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, as well as the Perth-London direct service”.

“We are working closely with airline partners and, where flights are operating, helping customers explore alternative routes across different airlines – whether they are in Europe trying to return to Australia, or vice versa,” a spokesperson said.

Flight routes

The airspace over Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria, Israel, Iran and Iraq remains closed, and Cirium’s Taylor said that meant there were two clear corridors around the conflict area: Oman and Saudi Arabia in the south and Turkey in the north.

“To the south, there are flights routing over Oman and the south-west part of Saudi Arabia, while to the north, flights are going over the subcontinent to Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey to dodge Iranian airspace,” Taylor said.

“That northern path seems to be allowing flights to operate from India and South-East Asia through to Europe with relatively little deviation.”

Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson said the Australian airline had customers on code-share services with Emirates who were stuck in the Middle East, while Qantas-operated services such as those flying to Europe via Perth and Singapore were not “materially impacted”.

Qantas said that from Wednesday, its previously non-stop Perth-to-London flight would stop in Singapore, adding up to 60 extra passengers. The move increases capacity to Europe as passenger traffic is constrained by the war.

Qatar Airways, a partner of Virgin Australia, has cancelled its Doha services until March 5, “due to the ongoing security situation in the Middle East and the closure of Qatari airspace”.

Bookings

Goldman, of the Goldman Group, urged stranded Australians to speak to travel agents, who could help navigate complex travel arrangements.

He also noted that the UAE announced it was “bearing all hosting and accommodation costs for affected and stranded passengers” in hotels.

With Clancy Yeates

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