Global flight chaos as Iran attacks Qatar
Global airlines have suspended or reduced flights in the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran rages after the United States bombed three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites at the weekend.
The United States carried out strikes against Iranian nuclear sites overnight Saturday to Sunday after over a week of deadly missile exchanges between Israel and Iran.
Flights in and out of Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest airport, were temporarily suspended and the United Arab Emirates closed its airspace as a precautionary measure.
However, Dubai Airports later said that it had resumed operations after a brief flight suspension, the Dubai Media Office posted on X.
Dozens of Gulf-bound flights on several commercial airlines were diverted en route to safer airports in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, India and Belgium, including those from London and Zurich to destinations like Dubai and Qatar, based on data from aviation consultant Cirium.
Singapore Airlines has cancelled eight flights to Dubai -- two per day from Sunday through Wednesday.
Australians warned
Australians who are travelling to Europe this peak summer season via the Middle East had been warned of airspace closures, flight cancellations and other travel disruptions amid the Iran-Israel conflict.
Travel insurance is also expected to become more expensive for Aussies with connecting flights in the region.
It is terrible timing for Virgin Australia and its customers as the airline only just returned to international long-haul flying with the launch of its Sydney-Doha and Brisbane-Doha flights in partnership with Qatar Airways on June 12 and June 19. Perth-Doha services are scheduled to take off June 26, and Melbourne-Doha will join in December.
Smartraveller, which is run by the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), raised the advice level for Qatar to 'exercise a high degree of caution' last week.
Dubai, UAE, and Doha, Qatar, are both aviation hubs for connecting flights into Europe, but Smartraveller now warns: 'the security situation in the Middle East is unpredictable and could deteriorate further with little warning'.
Tim Bennett, an insurance expert at Finder, told news.com.au that travel insurance providers 'pay very close attention' to Smartraveller's advice levels, and this will directly impact what is covered in tourists' policies and the premiums they are likely to pay.
'Travel insurance is probably going to be more expensive now if your trip runs through Qatar, or frankly anywhere in the Middle East,' Mr Bennett said.
'Travel insurance companies base their premiums on the risk of your trip, and a higher Smartraveller alert level is a good indicator of an increase in risk.'
However, he said while it may be more costly, fortunately most insurance companies would still offer cover at this advice level.
'Some insurers may introduce exclusions for claims you can make if you take out cover after the alert level has changed, but you'll generally still be covered for most things,' Mr Bennett said. 'Times like these are when you actually need to read your policy documents.'
He added that your plane being diverted to another destination shouldn't affect your ability to make a claim, even if you end up in a country with a high travel warning, as the cover is based on a planned itinerary. Although, Mr Bennett suggested getting cover as soon as possible.
Australian aviation expert Keith Tonkin told news.com.au that a country can decide to close its airspace at any time, and it can take effect immediately — meaning aircraft may need to divert midair.
'That might be the entire airspace of the country or it might just be a certain part of the airspace where they want to do something like fire missiles into the sky or conduct some operation where they don't want civilian aircraft flying through the airspace,' he explained.
Even if the airspace is not closed, Mr Tonkin said there are hazards that may need to be avoided, such as other aircraft flying through the space to deliver weapons.
Airspace closures themselves can be 'very disruptive' and have 'significant implications'. Even if flights are not landing in a country with a closed airspace, the aircraft may need to change its flight path to avoid the area, and this could result in flights needing to divert to get more fuel to make it to their final destination.
'One of the interesting things is that we now have several different airspace volumes not available to fly through at the moment because of the war in Ukraine, what's happening in the Middle East, and Pakistan-India, there's a situation there where Pakistan closes airspace for a little while because they're fighting — a lot of aeroplanes are getting condensed into less airspace,' Mr Tonkin said.
'There are fewer flight routes available for them to fly through, so there's a bit of congestion, more aeroplanes being processed by air traffic controllers that they would not have been doing in the past. The system is being pressured where those aeroplanes are now being diverted through different airspace.'
He said this leads to flight delays and increased costs with aircraft having to fly further and burn more fuel.
Australian Travel Industry Association Dean Long said Australians flying to Europe via the Middle East should be prepared for some delays, but urged travellers to not cancel their flights.
'Travellers shouldn't panic or cancel unnecessarily,' Mr Long said.
'The one thing we learned through Covid is don't cancel as it reduces the number of rights you have. Let the airline make that decision. This approach ensures your rights are protected and you get the support you need.'
Mr Long asked travellers not to contact their travel agent or airline unless they are travelling in the next three days so that the needs of those travelling immediately could be accommodated as a priority.
Virgin Australia said the Iran-Israel conflict had not yet impacted their services.
The airline said if a change is required, Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways would 'work together on identifying safe alternatives and will ensure guests remain well-informed of any impacts'.
In an update on Monday, Qatar Airways told news.com.au there would be 'some schedule changes to strengthen the connectivity in Doha'.
'We are continuously monitoring and assessing the situation, and reacting in real-time to ensure we operate under the safest conditions possible at all times,' the airline said.
'We have some of the best people in the business working behind the scenes to keep our network strong and secure, and to ensure we remain the airline you can trust and rely on.'
Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways did not answer questions from news.com.au about where flights from Australia would be diverted if necessary.
Airlines worldwide are closely monitoring the Middle East. On Sunday, Singapore Airlines cancelled flights between Singapore and Dubai and British Airways cancelled flights to and from Dubai and Doha.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
20 hours ago
- West Australian
Virgin Australia expands Qatar Airways alliance with launch of Perth to Doha route
Despite the travel chaos that dominated news headlines earlier this week, the show still went on for Virgin Australia, with the carrier launching its inaugural Perth to Doha route on Thursday. As part of its milestone partnership with Qatar Airways, the airline has been phasing in its highly anticipated return to long-haul international flying over the past two weeks, and Perth has become the third Australian city to join the expanded network. The maiden departure from Perth International Airport was a positive sign for the aviation industry after the widespread disruptions caused this week by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The new Virgin Australia routes to Doha use Qatar's aircraft, which are equipped with the ultra-luxe Qsuite business class and feature the widest economy seats in the industry. The alliance between the two carriers is significant as it connects Aussies to more than 170 destinations worldwide and will grow the capacity of flights from Australia to Doha to 2.65 million seats a year by the end of 2025. There are also plenty of loyalty benefits for travellers who value their frequent flyer status. Velocity members will receive 50 per cent bonus status credits on bookings made from now to June 30 for travel between October 1 and May 27 2026 on eligible Virgin Australia flights between Australia and Doha. From October 1, Velocity will increase the number of status credits members will earn on the new routes to ensure consistency across Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways services. Silver members will score 50 per cent bonus points, with 75 per cent for Gold members, and 100 per cent for Platinum — in addition to the benefits already available to Velocity members, from business class upgrades to dining vouchers at Hamad International Airport, premium lounge access, and extra baggage allowance. Virgin Australia is celebrating the launch with a sale on fares to Doha and selected destinations in Europe. Travellers can save up to 15 per cent on eligible fares for travel between October 15 and March 31 2026, if booked by 11.59pm Eastern States time on June 30. Conditions apply. See more at
ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
Does travel insurance cover cancellations due to war or natural disasters?
Do you really know what your travel insurance covers? This week, passengers faced cancellations and lengthy delays on flights due to the Middle East conflict, with routes to major cities cut off across the globe. While operations in Dubai and Qatar have resumed and airspaces reopened, it's times like these that it pays to know exactly what your travel insurance covers We spoke to the experts to find out what you're entitled to when a conflict breaks out or a natural disaster unfolds. In short, no. That's what Wendy discovered after buying travel insurance for her adult son weeks before the conflict in the Middle East. Stranded at Doha airport after winning a European holiday, and despite getting a full refund for the cancelled flight, Christopher was told he would have to pay the difference for an alternative ticket with another airline. "We were really shocked. I can understand war and unrest is a very top-tier issue, but it's still interesting how they can get around it because it falls under something that's outside of your control," Wendy said. It's a situation insurance expert Jodi Bird from consumer advocacy group CHOICE said was far more common than many people realised. "Pretty much across all policies there's a blanket ban," he said. "There's no policies that CHOICE are aware of that will cover claims resulting from war." It's pretty straightforward, according to Mr Bird. It's all about the bottom line. "Travel insurance generally doesn't like to cover things like war because it costs too much money," he said. "For some reason, they've decided that war is kind of a blanket ban across pretty much all policies." Put simply, it doesn't make a difference. You won't be covered regardless of the premium you're paying, Mr Bird said. Even the most expensive policies don't offer protection when conflict breaks out overseas. "You might find some variation in things like a pandemic — there were a lot more insurers that covered for pandemic before we had one," he said. Unfortunately, timing doesn't help. Wendy's family had no inkling there was a risk when they booked. "In what way, in our wildest dreams … a transit flight through Qatar, which thousands and thousands of passengers are doing around the world every day, would you ever consider that there's going to be a war there?" she said. The Insurance Council of Australia's deputy CEO, Kylie McFarlane, said it doesn't matter when the policy is taken out. If there is no conflict or war at the time of purchase, the fine print still excludes any claims arising from those events. It depends on your level of cover, but in many cases you may be protected. Natural disasters like floods, cyclones or bushfires are treated differently to war or a conflict. "Extreme weather events may be an inclusion," Ms McFarlane said. "It all comes down to the insurance policy and the provider, so if you're concerned, speak to your insurer." Absolutely — and don't give up if your claim is knocked back. "You should not accept that as the last port of call, unless you absolutely agree with them," Mr Bird said. "The first thing you need to do is raise a complaint to the insurer themselves and ask them to revisit your claim. And if they don't give you a satisfactory answer, you can escalate the complaint to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority." Wendy reached out to the insurance company, but they simply directed her to the clause on her policy showing that war or unrest made any claims null and void. "It's not one of those things that they even raise for you in the beginning, and even if you'd looked at the exclusions at the back, it still wouldn't occur to us," she said. Start by looking beyond the top-line benefits on the website and dig into the exclusions. "Every product disclosure statement has a section called 'general exclusions' — that's a bit that is good to read," he said. "That will give you an understanding of what they may or may not cover — big events like war, pandemic, terrorism, civil unrest. That will give you a good idea of what it is that you're actually buying." Yep. "Travel insurance is definitely worth it — especially just for the medical cost line," Mr Bird says. "It's worth it basically all the time for overseas travel. You will need travel insurance to cover the medical and repatriation costs if you have a problem overseas. Those are the kinds of things where you can really get into a lot of trouble financially if you're not covered." While Wendy's son was able to get a refund for the cancelled flight, they weren't able to pay out the difference of a more expensive flight for him to get to Europe. Or the extra costs associated with travelling from a different city to his intended destination. Wendy has a message for other travellers . "Beware, and understand that you can fully pay for your trip and be prepared, and you can buy your travel insurance, and then still you have to be prepared to cover all the costs yourself if something goes wrong," she said.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Cassy's teary farewell to passengers went viral. Now her airline is back in the game
It was a memorable moment at the start of the pandemic. In late March 2020, Cassy Appleton, Virgin Australia crew supervisor, delivered a pre-landing safety message to passengers that she appended with a farewell speech for the airline's international operation. Choking back tears, Appleton thanked customers and praised colleagues. Epitomising the fear of the widening COVID-19 pandemic, Appleton's speech quickly went viral. For Virgin Australia, the unknowns at the time were arguably more profound. Within weeks of the speech, the company – once a domestic competitor for Qantas, the only one – would be in voluntary administration, delisted from the ASX, later sold to US-based private equity group Bain Capital. On Tuesday, Virgin, reorganised, under new management, backed now by a Middle Eastern aviation behemoth, took the leap and returned to the Australian Securities Exchange, a viable, listed competitor to Qantas. Virgin has come full circle, in the process facing down reluctant regulators, unions and global uncertainty spurred by US President Donald Trump's trade wars – as well as hot wars in the Middle East. 'We're very proud of the product and service that we put out there,' chief executive Dave Emerson said. 'We provide strong competition and great value and service for Australian consumers'. Yet, the timing of Virgin's IPO only became a certainty a few months ago, after a number of conditions fell into place: the new chief executive, restored investor interest, the support of its largest union, the backing of stakeholder Qatar, Virgin's new strategy to be a simpler, more focused airline, and, ironically, the strength of Qantas' share price helping showcase domestic appetite for aviation stocks. Emerson took the role of chief executive in March, the same month the government approved Qatar Airways to take a share of Virgin and to participate in the 'wet-lease' agreement that allowed the Doha-based airline to increase the number of flights from Australia by 28 a week. The government had denied Qatar Airways' application for additional flights in 2023, citing elusive reasons of 'national interest'. Transport Minister Catherine King's inability to explain the basis of the government's rationale prompted a Senate inquiry which examined Qantas' potential influence on the government's ruling. Speaking this week before Virgin listed, Emerson reflected: '[It] was pretty difficult for us to go to market when there was uncertainty about whether that deal would be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board. I think that that was the key trigger of us then being able to start to market the company.' Virgin's reliance on the government's approval of Qatar's participation was ironic, given the government's unwillingness to bail Virgin out during its 2020 fall. It was out of this dark period for aviation that Qantas laid off 1800 staff illegally, creating the industry backdrop from which Virgin would rise. 'It's a brutal industry, and Qantas has been a brutal player in that industry,' said Emily McMillan, national assistant secretary of the Transport Workers Union, which is the largest representative of Virgin employees. Loading The union was relieved when Virgin ended speculation and said its chief customer and digital officer, Paul Jones, who had earlier been involved in Qantas' industrial relations, would not replace outgoing boss Jayne Hrdlicka as chief executive. TWU's McMillan said: 'We're pleased that Virgin have made key choices in these last five years as they've navigated through this process to work with its workforce in a different way.' Ruling out Jones, who replaced Emerson as Virgin's chief commercial officer, paved the way for Emerson – one of the least known personalities in Australian aviation – to be named chief of the airline. Emerson was part of the Bain Capital team looking over the restructuring of the troubled airline that the US private equity group took control of in 2020. Father of four sons, a sometime reader of sci-fi (John Scalzi and Martha Wells) and author Michael Lewis, and a somewhat reluctant pickleball player, Emerson brought years of experience in aviation consulting from Bain & Company, where his predecessor Jayne Hrdlicka had once worked. Loading As the pandemic hit, Emerson and his wife had already been looking for an overseas posting. He said he had just dropped his youngest son off at university, before heading to the plane to come to Australia, a place that is the 'opposite of a hardship posting'. However, given the time, Emerson's first impression of the country was limited to the walls of a Marriott hotel room where he stayed upon COVID quarantine. Bain had named Reunion Capital as the independent adviser in 2023, which then appointed Goldman Sachs, UBS and Barrenjoey as book builders of the deal. Emerson's appointment in March signalled the start of the IPO process. Once Bain decided to launch, brokers and investors moved quickly to secure significant volumes of investor demand. On his first day on the job, Emerson met investors, as well as staff in Brisbane and Sydney, going on a tour of Virgin's front-line staff that would take him to Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide. Importantly, he met the union. 'We met with Dave Emerson on the first day of his job,' said TWU's McMillan, 'which we thought was a really positive sign of working collaboratively with the workforce.' Loading Emerson was to simplify the business, pivoting away from the complexity that helped expose it to loss before 2020. The plan was also to be focused on areas where Virgin could compete effectively. 'We want to win in the segment of the market that we've chosen to serve, the value segment,' Emerson said. That didn't mean unlimited, unchecked competition against larger rival Qantas, which helped drive Virgin towards unsustainable debt levels before 2020. Rather, Virgin would compete for premium leisure, small and medium business customers and value-minded corporate customers. 'We have a lot of respect for Qantas,' said Emerson, who notes that Qantas does a good job serving its core customer segments. 'That's one of the reasons that we chose the business model that, we thought, was built around segments that aren't as well served in their existing ... model.' Qatar Airways' participation would help. Virgin operates a simplified fleet of 100 mostly 737s domestically and in overseas destinations such as Fiji, Bali and Vanuatu. Under the 'wet-lease agreement' with Qatar, Virgin could 'carefully re-enter' long-haul travel while sidestepping the complex planning and operations it demands. (Under the deal, Qatar will provide the planes and crew for flights sold by Virgin.) From Qatar, Virgin gets commissions on flights sold, more users of its Velocity loyalty program, and, with more people flying into Australia, more traffic into Virgin's domestic lines. That's all good as long as international travel holds up, which is no certainty in a time of war in the Middle East and Donald Trump's on-again, off-again tariff announcements. Emerson said: 'The way our partnership with Qatar is structured, our economics are focused on the domestic business, and their economics are focused on the long-haul business. So even if demand didn't meet expectations, we wouldn't expect it to have a material effect'. Perceptions around the rebuilt airline mattered too. This meant convincing future investors that Virgin had changed since its days of damaging price wars with Qantas. Going into administration had wiped out the value of Virgin debt securities listed on the ASX. There was a bit of a 'hurdle to overcome how this is a different business now', said one person involved in the IPO, who described it as the 'first challenge' in taking the deal to market. But the outlook for aviation since the end of lockdowns had transformed. Demand for travel appeared limitless. Investors were highly attracted to the industry structure and saw Virgin 'with strong and stable market share and an ability to increase margins over the next couple of years'. Emerson's jammed up meeting schedule ahead of the IPO – banks, unions and company staff – left little time for interviews. Given the restrictions around what can be said before a company lists, and his sudden appointment as chief executive, there was often little Emerson could say. The air of mystery contributed to the sense of anticipation about the reception a relisted Virgin would get from the public. Loading On a recent visit to Melbourne Airport at Tullamarine, a sampling of Virgin passengers voiced sentiments that were uncannily close to Virgin's identified target market. While a number of passengers' stories began with pledges to never fly Qantas again, business travellers this masthead spoke to were generally happy with Virgin. One said Virgin appeared more 'inventive' while Qantas was 'stale'. Another bristled at Qantas' welcome-to-country announcements. Andrew Mills, who months ago spent 30 hours trying to get back to Australia from New Zealand after a Qantas cancellation, said: 'I made the decision to fly only with Virgin, and it's been pretty promising to date. 'I would say 95 per cent of the flights that I've been on since then have been on time and able to allow me to get to my destination as expected.' In fact, in May, Virgin's on-time arrivals reached 84.8 per cent while Qantas' stood at 82.5 per cent, according to the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics. One person with knowledge of the deal said Bain had done a 'pretty good job' of turning Virgin around, by finding a part of the market that avoids costly clashes with Qantas. Virgin 'should probably be able to earn increasing margins over time' by not, for example, competing directly for most international routes. Still, the aviation business is not an easy one to succeed at. There are high fixed costs, such as the price of maintaining fleets of jets, or fuel prices. Ticket prices are influenced not just by demand but costs which themselves are vulnerable to outside factors such as those on display this week between Iran and Israel. Chief executive of Moomoo Securities Australia Michael McCarthy said the fact that the prospectus offered no guidance after June 2025 was a 'possible red flag' from Virgin. 'If the people who run this business believe the future for Virgin is so uncertain that they cannot estimate even the next 12 months' earnings, how are investors supposed to make a decision?' In this way, the path of rival Qantas' stock functioned as a proxy for sentiment for the Australian aviation sector, including Virgin. Qantas' stock rose from about $5.78 a share on August 5, to more than $10.27 on June 20, on growing optimism for the outlook for aviation. Virgin was priced at a discount to Qantas, $2.90 a share, with the understanding that Virgin, while a competitor, remained the junior player. As June 24 approached, unwelcome clouds gathered. While markets had largely priced in the Middle East conflict, Iran and Israel began lobbing missiles at each in earnest only a week before. On Monday morning (AEST), Qatar, the home of Qatar Airways, closed its airspace in response to Iranian missile attacks, the very hub of the airline Virgin was now linked to. Emerson said the geopolitical tensions 'underscore' the advantages of being a 90 per cent domestic Australian airline. The local market had been incredibly resilient and, historically, demand had ridden right through geopolitical shocks, he said. Loading Still, Emerson has been peppered by questions about how the Middle East tensions would affect the IPO. Speaking before the stock relisted, Emerson noted: 'There's always the ability to amend the schedule down [the number of wet lease flights with Qatar] if we jointly decide that's in our interest. There's nothing in the agreement that requires us to fly all these flights forever.' When the day came, the sentiment was mixed. Headlines from the Middle East couldn't be worse, but the ASX 200 rallied on expectations that peace would prevail and oil prices fell. The Virgin IPO would be a test of the feeling around the Australian aviation industry. Was the glass half-full, or half-empty? A steady outlook or turbulence ahead? Share listed at $2.90 noon on the ASX. Then they rose. Virgin ticked up by days end to $3.23. They closed down at 2.2 per cent on Friday to $3.18. Loading A person with knowledge of the deal, said Bain was successful in part because it wasn't 'trying to sell too much' of the stock. 'They kept the shares scarce and the price was compelling.' Virgin also had a 'very clear competitor' in the form of Qantas, which also reassured investors looking to understand the metrics of the smaller airline's performance. Virgin's successful launch also signalled a market 'very open to IPOs now' which is, as one investor said, 'a relatively new thing'. Bain Capital veteran and Virgin director Mike Murphy rated the IPO the 'most complex Bain has ever done in Australia and among the most complex that even global Bain has done'. He thinks future competition with Qantas will be 'rational' but 'the Australian aviation market is extremely competitive and it is closely watched by the ACCC'. Even former Virgin chief executive Paul Scurrah called it 'a proud day for the team to see what we envisaged during the [2020] sale process come to fruition'. Asked if the IPO was the biggest undertaking of his career, Emerson said working with the team at Virgin had been 'the capstone of what has been 30 years in aviation, and I couldn't be more proud and excited about it'. One Virgin crew member with more than a decade's experience with the company noted that aviation was an 'inherently unstable industry'. Remembering back to 2020, when his former colleague Cassy Appleton posted her farewell video before Virgin essentially stopped flying, he said those videos were almost 'a form of grief'. Having said that, Virgin appeared much sounder on the day than the decade earlier when he began working for the company. 'To be completely honest,' he said, 'it is kind of surprising that we've gone from point A to point B and become relatively stable and quite profitable in such a short space of time.'
