Australia is giving travellers the okay to travel to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
It has updated its advice on Smartraveller today, dropping the warning level from Do Not Travel to Reconsider Your Need To Travel.It says the security situation in Qatar and the UAE remains unpredictable, that there remains a risk of military action, and that airspace may open or close at short notice.
This ‘reconsider’ advice also applies to Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The Australian Government does point out that Level 3 remains a high threshold, and it adds that this also means ‘reconsider your need to transit’. “If you need to transit these locations, stay as short a time as possible and eliminate unnecessary activities.”
The move follows intense lobbying from organisations including the Australian Travel Industry Association, which was demanding a staged, proportionate response that moves airport transit to Level 3 (Reconsider) recognising that a 90-minute airside transit carries a fundamentally different risk profile to an extended holiday in-country.
. . . At Home
Close to home, SafeTravel advises against travel to almost all countries in the Middle East with its strongest Level 4.
A spokesperson for the agency says travel advice balances a range of factors, including the security environment and safety risks to Kiwis.
“Attacks in Kuwait, Bahrain, and in the UAE, alongside the ongoing hostilities around the Strait of Hormuz, are examples of the risk and concern we see.”
The advisory level for all Gulf states is being kept under regular review, the spokesperson says, acknowledging that the UAE and Qatar are major transit points for New Zealanders, and that its travel advice has significant implications for travellers, including with respect to travel insurance coverage.
