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Foreign Minister Penny Wong has stated that the recent closure of airspace due to Iranian retaliatory attacks will likely hinder the Australian government’s efforts to organize repatriation flights for citizens stranded in the Middle East.
Australians have been advised against traveling to several Middle Eastern nations, such as Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. This comes in the wake of Iran’s response to US-Israeli military strikes, which reportedly resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, Iran has yet to officially confirm Khamenei’s death.
The Iranian missile attacks targeted key cities like Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Doha, which are significant hubs for east-west aviation and have seen an increase in US military presence in anticipation of the strikes. Qatar, notably, hosts the largest US military base in the region.
In one of the incidents, a missile struck a concourse at Dubai International Airport on Sunday morning, injuring four people.
The regional airspace closures have affected Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, with flight tracking maps showing that skies over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, and Bahrain have been largely vacated since the attacks commenced.
Wong said the government had supported Australians stranded overseas in the past with repatriation flights.
“The government’s very aware this is extremely distressing and concerning for the region, and particularly Australians in the region,” she told reporters in Adelaide on Sunday.
The minister said the government “will always” do what it can to support Australians, but added that airspaces were closed.
“Our focus is on the security and safety of Australians in the region. What I would also say is we do anticipate there being this being a difficult, difficult days ahead.
“Whatever information we have and that we are able to confirm, we will provide to Australians in the region as quickly as we can.”
Eric Schouten, head of aviation security advisory Dyami, told the Reuters news agency: “Passengers and airlines can expect airspace to be shut for quite some time.”
Flights in Australia to parts of the Middle East cancelled
A number of flights from Australia to the Middle East and Europe were cancelled amid the conflict.
Virgin Australia said four flights bound for Doha operated by Qatar Airways rerouted to Australia on Saturday night due to the closure of the Qatari airspace. These included flights from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, which returned to various airports.
It also said seven flights were cancelled — including those arriving from Doha and others bound for the city.
“Guests scheduled to travel on Virgin Australia services between Australia and Doha in the coming days are advised to closely monitor their flight information and visit the Smartraveller website for the latest travel advice,” a Virgin Australia spokesperson told SBS News.
Qantas said it had not cancelled any of its flights to Europe at this stage. SBS News understands Qantas has a number of flight path options for flights to Europe.
The European Union’s aviation regulator EASA on Saturday recommended its airlines stay out of the airspace affected by the ongoing military intervention.
British Airways said it had cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, and Bahrain until 3 March, as well as Saturday’s flights to Amman.
Germany’s Lufthansa said it was suspending flights to and from Dubai on Saturday and Sunday and halting the Tel Aviv, Beirut and Oman routes until 7 March.
Air France and Iberia also cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut, while India put carriers on alert as Air India and IndiGo suspended services.
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways operations in the region, affecting passenger flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh.
Qatar Airways and Kuwait Airways temporarily suspended flights, while Turkish Airlines also cancelled flights to several Middle Eastern destinations.
Qatar Airways said in a post on X that flight operations will resume at 1900 Doha time on Sunday (4am Monday, AEDT).
— With reporting by Reuters.
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