Gulf flights are back, but don’t book or cancel before reading this

Australians stranded in the Middle East have been paying thousands of dollars to cross international borders into Oman or Saudi Arabia, where flights are operating as normal.

Australia’s capital city airports have become parking lots for Middle Eastern aircraft. The general manager at my hotel in India reports 40 room nights lost due to air travel cancellations.

The disruption to air travel caused by the outbreak in hostilities in the Middle East has had impacts around the globe. While the shutdown has been sudden, it’s already starting to dissipate as the Middle East airlines that carry so many Australians to Europe slowly resume operations.

The situation remains confusing – some media reports suggested aviation safety expert Professor Ron Bartsch was recommending Australians should cancel travel bookings to Europe for the next six months when he said nothing of the kind. Here’s what travellers with plans or existing bookings that take them through the region need to know.

Should I cancel my European trip scheduled for April?

No. Non-stop flights from Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and Guangzhou to European cities are operating as normal. If you are booked to fly with a Middle East carrier, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad have resumed flights to and from Australia and on to Europe. All Qantas flights to Europe continue to operate. Airlines are risk-averse. If the security situation deteriorates and their operations are threatened, they would immediately ground flights. If you cancel your flight, a tour or a cruise you are at the mercy of the operator’s terms and conditions and your rights to a refund, a travel credit or a rebooking are limited.

Are airlines that have suspended services offering fee-free refunds or credits?

At the time of writing, Qatar Airways is offering passengers who are unable to fly from Australia via Doha on their services either a full refund or the option to rebook for up to 14 days beyond their original booking date. Emirates is processing full refunds for cancelled flights up to March 10, and travel credits allowing passengers to rebook an alternative flight to the same destination up to 10 days from the original date of travel. Etihad has offered a full refund for anyone whose flight was cancelled, plus a rebooking facility. Travellers should monitor airline websites for specific criteria regarding fee-free changes, as travel and booking dates apply.

What are the most affordable flight options to Europe via Asia?

Passengers with upcoming flights to Europe with the Middle East carriers have had to find alternative airlines, and prices have rocketed. For a return economy flight from Australia to London in March, prices aboard Singapore Airlines, China Eastern, Turkish Airlines or Japan Airlines start at about $7000. Fuel costs have increased since airlines must now avoid the shortest route to Europe through western Iran, but most of that increase is due to the huge upsurge in demand and the reduced availability of seats. If you need to travel to Europe, delay if possible until capacity returns to normal and airfares will drop.

Which route are airlines now using to fly between Asia and Europe?

A Qantas pilot friend has flown over Afghanistan twice over the past few days en route to London. The normal route would take that flight along a north-south corridor through western Iran but that’s out of the question at the moment. A Flightradar24 map shows east-west flights travelling well to the north or south of Iran.

I’m travelling to Europe with Qatar Airways in May, should I cancel or will Middle East airlines reroute their flights to avoid the region if the conflict is ongoing?

Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the hub cities for the major Middle East carriers operating flights to Australia. While the conflict with Iran is raging in their neighbourhood, they are not currently being targeted and they are rerouting flights to avoid the danger zone. According to retired Qantas captain Bill Austen, “The incredibly large volume of aircraft through the Middle East [since my time] seems to have adjusted very well to the disruption. I was checking out Flightradar24 a day or so ago and everything is proceeding pretty well. The alternate routes to the north over the “Stans” and to the south over Egypt seem to be working.” While it will take some time for those airlines to resume their normal schedules, that should happen before May.

I was going to book Emirates in September as they fly direct to Athens, should I book a different airline?

Not right now, as prices are hugely inflated. Keep a keen eye on flight prices, sign up for flight alerts with sites such as Skyscanner, looking for a drop when capacity returns to normal. When it does, there might be some reluctance to fly with the Gulf State carriers. If so, that will be reflected in ticket prices aboard those airlines. Grab a deal if it comes along.

If a flight cancellation causes me to miss my cruise or tour, am I entitled to a refund from the operator?

That depends on the terms and conditions that applied when you paid for your cruise or tour, but probably not. An act of war, and that applies to the current bombardment of Iran, is classified as a force majeure event, and most cruises and tour operators have clauses that excuse them from fulfilling their contractual obligations, with no right to compensation. The best you can hope for is that the operator will offer a credit allowing you to take part in your cruise or tour at a later date.

What about travel insurance?

The same applies, and force majeure events are customarily excluded from policies. The exception is a “cancel for any reason” (CFAR) travel insurance policy. As the name implies, the policy holder can decide to cancel and receive a partial refund, typically 50-75 per cent of non-refundable costs. In Australia, such cover is generally limited to a 14-day cooling-off period, but that only allows for a full refund of the premium if a trip is cancelled within this timeframe, provided no journey has started and no claims are made. More commonly available in the USA, a CFAR provision generally adds about 50 per cent to the cost of a standard travel insurance policy.