Australia advises travelers to reconsider trips to UAE and Qatar amid renewed Middle East tensions

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has updated its Smartraveller website, urging citizens to "reconsider your need to travel" to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar because of an "unpredictable security situation" after a flare‑up of fighting in the region. Iranian missiles and drones hit the Gulf states on Sunday, following U.S. strikes inside Iran, prompting DFAT to maintain a Level 3 advisory (reconsider travel) that could be raised to Level 4 (do not travel).

The advisory notes that roughly a third of airline traffic to Europe—about 40 million passengers a year—passes through the Gulf, and that 1 to 1.4 million Australians annually use the region as a transit route to Europe. Former DFAT official Ian Kemish said it is a "fair assumption" that the government may reconsider the warning level as the security environment evolves. The change follows a June downgrade from Level 4 to Level 3 after a temporary U.S.–Iran memorandum eased tensions and allowed safer ship transits through the Strait of Hormuz.