SYDNEY, June 17 — Australia today relaxed its travel advice for several West Asian countries, allowing Australians to transit through and travel to the biggest Gulf air hubs with the security of being covered by insurance.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the previous “do not travel” advisory had been lowered for the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Israel and Kuwait after the United States and Iran reached an interim deal to end the war.
She said the advisory had moved to “reconsider your need to travel” to those countries, as the security situation could still deteriorate rapidly with little warning.
The removal of the “do not travel” warning is positive for Gulf airlines. They had carried more than half of all passengers flying from Europe to Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands before the war began in late February, according to aviation data firm Cirium.
Many Australian travellers concerned about the risk of missiles and drones, schedule disruptions and the lack of travel insurance coverage had preferred flights on carriers like Qantas Airways, Singapore Airlines and Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways that transited in Asia, driving up airfares.
Flight Centre Travel Group today said travellers with forward bookings to Europe routed via West Asia had typically amended or cancelled plans due in part to the government warning that stripped Australians of insurance coverage.
Emirates said last week it would roll out incentives aimed at winning back travellers worried about the protracted Iran war, focusing on reliability and customer support rather than lower fares because the oil price remained high.
Jet fuel prices more than doubled after the Iran war began, leading many airlines to lift ticket prices, cut capacity and add fuel surcharges.
But the price gains have since receded as the prospects of a peace deal improved. Singapore jet fuel traded at about US$116 a barrel yesterday, higher than the pre-conflict price of around US$80 but less than half of the March 30 high of US$242.
Oil prices slid more than 2 per cent to new three-month lows yesterday, a day after tumbling nearly 5 per cent following news of the US-Iran deal, although industry officials say West Asian oil and gas output will take months to fully recover.
