‘Do so now’: Australians flee Middle East as skies reopen

Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the “overwhelming majority” of Australians who were trapped in transit in the Middle East have departed, as temporary airspace reopenings allow an increasing number of citizens to return home on commercial flights.

Global flight travel was thrown into chaos after the US and Israel bombed Iran on February 28, following failed negotiations to pressure Tehran into abandoning its nuclear program and ballistic missile capability, as well as an abandonment of support for proxies in the region.

Iran retaliated by launching strikes on Israel and US bases located in neighbouring Gulf countries, dragging at least 10 other countries into the conflict and shutting down major international travel hubs including Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi airports.

At that point about 115,000 Australians were estimated to be in the region.

As of Wednesday, more than 3000 Australians had returned home on 21 direct commercial flights, with further services scheduled in coming days, Senator Wong said in a statement.

“Two flights from Dubai are scheduled to arrive in Australia morning, with a further two due to depart (Wednesday) afternoon. A flight from Doha is also scheduled to depart this evening,” she said.

“Airports and airlines have advised that the overwhelming majority of Australian passengers stranded while transiting through the Middle East have now departed.

“While airspace restrictions and intermittent closures around major transit hubs continue to cause delays and cancellations, commercial flights remain the fastest option for Australians to leave the Middle East.

“We understand these are difficult decisions for Australians who live and work in the Middle East and we encourage those who do wish to leave to do so now on commercial flights.”

Senator Wong said major airlines had extended their refund and free rebooking windows to help passengers affected by the disruptions, as limited outbound commercial flights had also begun to operate from Ben Gurion International airport in Israel.

Commercial flights out of Lebanon from Rafic Hariri International Airport continued to operate, she said, before reiterating government advice for Australians to leave Lebanon as soon as it is safely possible to do so.

Airports in Kuwait and Bahrain remained closed but bus transportation to Riyadh, in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, can help get Australians onto commercial flights out of the region, she said.

More to come.