It has been a turbulent period for the travel industry this week, which is still reeling from the impacts of the continued Middle Eastern conflict after Iran retaliated against Israeli/US military action with missile attacks on targets such as airports and hotels over the weekend.
As travel professionals work around the clock to ensure their clients are safe, the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) is offering support to its members, with a specialist Incident Response Group working in real-time to offer members “clear, consistent and actionable information”, said CEO Dean Long.
The organisation is also engaged with DFAT and the Australian Government regarding the evolving situation to ensure members receive timely advice.
“We want to acknowledge and thank every ATIA member contributing through supporting travellers, speaking publicly on behalf of the industry and feeding intelligence back to us,” Long said.
“That collaboration strengthens our voice and reinforces the critical role accredited travel businesses play when disruption hits.”
Here is an update on the state-of-play right now.
Airline support
The first commercial flight carrying Australians left Dubai this morning, EK414, and is due to land in Sydney at around 10.30pm AEDT.
There are currently 24,000 Australians stranded in the United Arab Emirates and about 115,000 in the broader Middle East region, according to the Federal Government.
“This is a consular crisis that dwarfs any that Australia has had to deal with in terms of numbers of people,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong told ABC Radio National this morning.
According to Flight Centre Travel Group chief Graham Turner, Etihad will resume flights to Sydney and Melbourne tomorrow, as long as it’s safe.
If all goes to plan, there should be around 24 Emirates flights an hour leaving Dubai from tomorrow, as well as a smaller number of Etihad services from Abu Dhabi to Australia, he said in an interview with ABC today.
Meanwhile, more than 20 aircraft from Emirates, Qatar and Etihad are currently stranded in Australia, seven of which are currently in long-term layover at Sydney Airport.
In other news, Qantas’ nonstop service between Perth and London has been canned, with a mandatory refuelling stop in Singapore to maximise passenger carriage. The new route will add roughly three hours to the journey, which will now take about 20 hours to complete.
However, the updated trip will add the carrier’s ability to add 50 to 60 passengers and fly with a full load.
Qantas does not operate to any Middle Eastern airports and all flights to Europe are continuing using a number of flight path options.
For travellers attempting to reschedule their flights through the Middle East, Gulf Air is allowing guests to rebook free of charge if they have tickets issued on or before 28 Feb and scheduled to depart between 28 Feb and 07 Mar. The policy update comes as travellers are impacted by the closure of Bahrain airspace.
Rebooking and the new departure must take place no later than 18 Mar, with any difference in fare waived. Additionally, pax are entitled to a full refund for unused tickets, and a 50% refund of the base fare for partly used taxes.
Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines has been accused of price gouging according to reports in News.com.au and The Australian, with the average one-way economy flight from Paris to Sydney now nearly $4,000.
“Our airfares are dynamic and subject to change, and they fluctuate based on a variety of factors, including proximity to proposed travel date, seat availability, the booking class selected, and the specific dates of the flights or itineraries,” SIA told Travel Daily.
The carrier also pointed out its high load factors, which in Jan were 86.1% overall and 91.3% in the South West Pacific.
Government support
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has launched a crisis portal for Australian citizens in the UAE, Qatar, Iran and Israel HERE, so the government can help travellers navigate disruption, providing regular travel updates, and consular assistance where it is possible.
However, the website has already been the subject of many complaints, with users taking to social media to vent frustration with slow speed and crashes.
Meanwhile, although Wong said on Mon that there were no repatriation flights operating to get Aussies home and that commercial flights would offer a faster solution, she said she would not rule out organising rescue services if required.
According to senior tourism lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney, David Beirman, while the Federal Government has contingency plans in place for evacuation flights, it can only do so when the respective Gulf governments permit them.
“Neither DFAT or me can name a day when that will occur but it may not be that long,” he said, adding that there are “high expectations” that evacuation flights will be operated for Aussies who, because of ‘act of war’ insurance clauses, have run out of money.
Travel insurance update
Some travel insurers may extend the coverage date of policies to support customers impacted by airspace and airport closures, according to the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), which has also declared the recent Middle East events as “a significant event”.
Under the declaration, an industry-wide taskforce has been established and the association has begun collecting and analysing claims data and consulting with members.
The ICA is also working with the Federal Government on a coordinated approach to support impacted Australians.
“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,” said ICA CEO Andrew Hall.
“Each claim is assessed on its own merit and insurers are armed with information to support those impacted,” he added.
Standard exclusions for war and conflict remain across most insurance products globally, noted the ICA, although nib Health told its customers that policies purchased before an event may cover some unexpected disruptions.
“Check your policy, understand your entitlements, and if you need help, get in touch with your travel insurer as soon as possible,” advised Dylan Wilkinson, Head of APAC and nib Travel Marketing at nib Travel.
Cruise
Overnight, Iran’s armed forces said it will attack any ship trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the only link from the Persian Gulf with outside waters.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the country’s army, has reiterated that the Strait is “closed”, with action to be taken against any ship attempting to transit it.
Iranian senior military advisor Ebrahim Jabari said any ship trying to navigate the Strait will be “set ablaze”. CruiseMapper shows Celestyal Cruises’ fleet, which includes Celestyal Discovery and Celestyal Journey, is still in the Persian Gulf, as are MSC Cruises’ MSC Euribia and Terra Nova Expeditions’ St. Helena.
MSC told Cruise Weekly it is following the guidance of the regional US military authorities to keep the ship in Dubai.
“We are actively in contact with embassies and foreign offices to ensure they have the relevant information about their nationals on board and to understand any repatriation plans being developed.”
Terra Nova told CW there is no concern at present for its vessel, while Celestyal was unable to respond before this masthead’s deadline.
A number of other cruise lines have cancelled their voyages in the Middle East this week following the Israeli-United States strikes on Iran.
Meanwhile, TUI Cruises’ Mein Schiff 4 was nearly hit by a missile on the weekend, while docked at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Port.
The vessel had 2,500 guests on board, most of them German nationals, when the missile landed metres away.
According to German media outlets, there was “chaos and panic” on the ship as guests were ordered off deck and away from windows.
