Should you cancel your flight out of the Middle East? An expert warns against it
Updated . First published
With travel chaos continuing to impact Australians as a result of ongoing airspace closures across the Middle East, you may be wondering if you should ongoing airspace closures
Major hubs - including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha - are currently affected, with cancellations, delays and rerouting underway across multiple carriers.
In Dubai alone, at least 1200 flights have been cancelled out of the city's international airport, which is a major travel hub for Australians flying to Europe.
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Ongoing airspace closures across the Middle East are impacting Australians. Supplied
"The situation across the Middle East is evolving rapidly," CEO of The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA), Dean Long, shared.
"Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways are the most directly impacted at this stage, but European and other international carriers routing through Gulf airspace are also experiencing delays and rerouting. The impact is broader than many travellers may expect."
Should you cancel your flight out of the Middle East?
But despite this uncertainty, the experts are urging travellers not to cancel travel arrangements due to the Middle East situation.
Speaking to 9Travel, Dean says it is crucial that any travellers with a current ticket don't cancel their flights or anything regarding their travel arrangements.
"The minute you go to cancel your flights, you are effectively doing a 'change of mind'," he tells us.
"And what that means is you fall back to the terms and conditions that you signed up for, which means you'll have additional fees, additional charges, you will have to pay significantly more money as a result of making that decision."
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Travellers check departure times as many flights are cancelled at Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport. AP Photo/Hassan Ammar
Instead, travellers should wait for the airlines to make that call, to have any chance of a refund or travel credit.
"If the airline cancels your flight, you will be entitled to a full cash refund or rebooking on a future flight at no cost to you because the airline has cancelled that flight," he continues.
"So it's critically important that even if you are very nervous, you do not cancel voluntarily any of your travel arrangements without seeking the advice of your travel agent."
What happens if your flight is cancelled by the airline
As a general rule, passengers are entitled to either a refund or a travel credit if the airline cancels the flight and a suitable alternative has not been found.
Some airlines will automatically rebook you onto the next available flight and send you a text and/or email alerting you of the change.
Other airlines (Virgin Australia, for example) will even look to move you onto another airline to the same destination if another VA flight is not available.
In this instance, Virgin is offering free booking changes, travel credits and refunds for guests booked on its flights to Doha up to and including Friday, March 6.
A flight map shoes airlines skirting Iran's borders after it closed its airspace. Flightradar24
For Emirates customers booked to travel before or on March 5, the airline has two options. Rebook on another flight to the intended destination up to 10 days from the original date of travel.
Or travellers can request a refund of their ticket by completing the refund form if booked with Emirates directly. Otherwise, customers need to contact their travel agent.
Travel insurance won't cover you
It's also important to note that travel insurance is unlikely to help either.
Most policies also exclude war, armed conflict, civil unrest, and destinations under "Do Not Travel" warnings, and coverage varies significantly between insurers.
"If you are in Europe, you still do have some cover. If you fall ill, or you trip on the sidewalk and you need to go to hospital, those elements of the travel insurance will still be operating," Dean explains.
"But any additional costs that you accrue, like additional hotel costs, or if you cancel your flight, all of those are going to have to come out of your pocket, because the cancellation is a direct result of the conflict."
The Insurance Council of Australia, however, does advise travellers to contact their insurer anyway.
"The conflict in the Middle East will continue to cause significant disruption to the world's travel network, but insurers' number one priority for their customers is their safety and security," ICA CEO Andrew Hall said.
"We encourage those in transit, or with upcoming travel plans, to speak to their insurer if they have suffered a loss and believe they have a claim."
When will flights resume in the Middle East
At this stage no call has been made by any airline to resume flights.
The ATIA stresses that travellers should not contact their travel agent unless they are travelling in the next 48 hours and have not been contacted.
"While you may be feeling very nervous and anxious about what's happening in three or four days time, the best advice at the moment is don't contact the airline or agency or tour operator to find out what's going on with your trip. People will be prioritised based on when they're being impacted," Dean says.
Emirates has grounded all flights to and from Dubai. Supplied
Virgin Australia has not indicated when flights to and from the Middle East will resume.
Qatar Airways confirmed flights remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace.
According to a statement from the airline, flights will resume once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace.
Emirates will begin operating a limited number of flights commencing on the evening of March 2, UAE time.
"We are accommodating customers with earlier bookings as a priority, and those who have been rebooked to travel on these limited flights will be contacted directly by Emirates," the airline said.
"Please do not go to the airport unless you have been notified."
Etihad Airways flights to and from Abu Dhabi have had been cancelled until at least 9am (AEDT) Monday March 2. However a small number of flights are also now operating, according to tracking data.
Are there alternative flight options?
If you need to be finding a way to get home urgently, from Europe for example, and you don't want to go through the Middle East, Dean says there are a number of corridors still operating.
"We know the major hubs in Asia are still operating. So you can still get through to Singapore, you can go through to Malaysia. You can get through to Thailand or even Hong Kong. The Chinese carriers are still operating high frequencies as well.
"At the moment, the US is also still open. But those routes are extremely popular and already very full."
Airlines and travel agencies will be looking at where there is capacity within those networks and then redirecting travellers to rebook them on those services to get them home.
Dubai is a major stopover for Australians flying to Europe. Getty
Australian travel warnings
Dean says the best thing travellers can do to absorb as much information as possible is to look at Smartraveller.
"That website will have all the key pieces of information that you need about airspace, and if things are open or closed," he says.
Travellers should also download the relevant apps, from your airline, travel agency or tour operator.
"They'll be pushing through notifications that are specific to your circumstances," Dean adds.
"It's really important that you check that out before even heading to the airport if you're travelling in the next 24 hours, because there are regular changes."
Smartraveller currently advises Australians not to travel to most destinations in the Middle East.
This includes Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Australians should reconsider the need to travel to Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates closed their skies hours after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, which resulted in numerous flight cancellations.
