The first flight from the Middle East to Australia since the conflict began over the weekend touched down yesterday evening in Sydney.
Three more flights to Australia were scheduled for today, with all three – two bound for Sydney and one for Melbourne – now in the air.
Flight status updates from Emirates show that less than half of its scheduled flights from Dubai to London are operating, while flight tracking websites show the Middle East is being avoided by aircraft.
Virgin Australia has continued to cancel flights to and from Qatar, with 19 flights cancelled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Qatar’s airspace remains closed, but Qatar Airways is beginning to operate some “relief flights” out of Muscat and Riyadh to European cities.
Direct flights between London and Perth on Qantas are now making a fuel stop in Singapore, due to adjustment to the flight path. Other than this, there are no changes to Qantas services internationally.
The Australian carrier is also offering no-fee flight changes for near-term flights booked via Qantas on partner airlines that have been disrupted due to the situation in the Middle East.
With no clear end point to the current conflict in the Middle East, which has seen attacks across various countries, there will be ongoing impact for the global business events industry.
For international conferences and events scheduled for Middle Eastern countries like the United Arab Emirates, there are currently few options for air travel and the uncertainty brought about by the conflict will undoubtedly deter delegates.
Australia’s Smart Traveller advisory website still carries do not travel advice for the majority of the Middle East, while the UK is advising against all but essential travel to countries including the UAE and Qatar.
There could also be wider impacts for conferences in Australia and New Zealand and Australian and New Zealand delegates travelling to European conferences, given the importance of the Middle East as a stopover hub for travel between Australia and New Zealand and Europe.
