The FCDO has issued new travel advice for 31 countries as the Middle East war causes widespread flight disruption and airspace closures
The FCDO has published multiple alerts warning Brits about travel(Image: MAHMOUD ZAYYAT, AFP via Getty Images)
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has released updated travel guidance for 31 nations following escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Recent Israeli and American military action against Iran over the last three weeks has prompted retaliation that has resulted in thousands of grounded flights, more than 2,000 fatalities, and the closure of both flight corridors and shipping lanes.
The FCDO has published multiple alerts and recommendations for British nationals intending to visit or currently residing in affected regions. The most recent update was released this afternoon and encompasses 31 nations.
“Escalation in the Middle East has caused widespread travel disruption, including airspace closures, delayed and cancelled flights. Your travel plans may be affected, even if your destination is not in the Middle East,” the guidance states, reports the Mirror.
The FCDO recommends that before departing, UK passport holders should:
- check travel advice for any countries or territories you are transiting through
- check for the latest updates from your airline or tour operator before travelling
- review your travel insurance policy for coverage before you travel
- monitor local and international media for the latest information and sign up for travel advice email alerts
Nations with revised guidance
- Singapore
- Vietnam
- Phillipinnes
- Tuvalu
- Laos
- Thailand
- Uzbekistan
- New Zealand
- Bangladesh
- Australia
- Indonesia
- Brunei
- Japan
- Georgia
- Tajikistan
- Nepal
- Maldives
- Fiji
- Malaysia
- India
- Papa New Guinea
- Cambodia
- South Korea
- Samoa
- Solomon
- Tonga
- Nauru
- Vanutu
- Marshall Islands
- Kiribati
- Sri Lanka
The conflict has claimed over 1,300 lives in Iran. Israeli military operations targeting the Iranian-supported Hezbollah militant organisation in Lebanon have forced more than 1 million individuals from their homes – approximately 20% of the nation’s population – according to Lebanese authorities, who report over 1,000 deaths. Israel claims to have eliminated more than 500 Hezbollah fighters.
Within Israel, 15 individuals have lost their lives due to Iranian rocket attacks. Four additional fatalities occurred in the occupied West Bank during the night from an Iranian missile strike, officials confirm. At least 13 American service personnel have been killed. Iran announced the execution of three men detained in January’s nationwide protests, the first such sentences known to have been carried out, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported.
Today, three weeks since the war began, Iran intensified its attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf.
The strikes, in retaliation for an Israeli attack on a key Iranian gas field, sent fuel prices soaring and risked drawing Iran’s Arab neighbours directly into the conflict. Tehran’s targeting of energy production further strained global supplies already under pressure because of Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.
Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war on 28 February, Iran’s top leaders have been killed in airstrikes and the country’s military capabilities have been severely degraded. Still, Iran – now led by the son of the supreme leader killed in the war’s opening salvo – remains capable of missile and drone attacks rattling its Gulf Arab neighbours and a global economy dependent on the energy they produce.
