Middle East War: How Safe Is It To Go Overseas This Year?

0:00You're listing two. I'm on the media podcast. If you've got Euro Summer book this year, you've probably wondered whether you should hit cancel or just cross your fingers. With war in the Middle East closing airspace, stranding thousands of Australians and sending fairs higher, house safe and house marsh, is it to go overseas in 2026. Today we'll see what the travel industry experts say, including the alternative spots to look at for your next trip abroad. It's the quickie. For Monday, March 9, I'm Taylor Strano. For a look at the latest news headlines, including an update this morning from the Middle East, here's Clem Irfy. Thanks Taylor, the Northern Territory town of Catherine has been hit by its worst flooding in more than three decades, with both the Catherine and Daily Rivers threatening to reach record-breaking levels. Hundreds of people in the Daily River community have been evacuated by helicopter to Darwin, where they're sheltering at the showgrounds. It's the second time they've stayed there

1:01after flooding forced their evacuation in early February. The water levels are higher this time with damage to homes and community services expected to be more severe. Locals are also being warned that the flooding has pushed crocodiles out of the river system and to be cautious. Pictures show empty supermarket shelves as flooded highways hold deliveries, although locals have said their told supplies were expected today. A number of schools have had to close. Many are also being used as temporary evacuation centers, and Catherine hospitals had to close its doors with all patients evacuated to Darwin. A monsoon is expected to drop more rain on the region this week, with Northern Australia now tracking towards one of its wetter seasons on record. Federal and territory governments have announced support payments for residents whose houses are flooded. They range from immediate relief payments, capped at $1,537 per family, to funds to help replace essential household items, including white goods and furniture. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has confirmed the government has received requests for aid from our lives under attack during Iranian strikes.

2:03While the minister says Australia will not be part of any ground troop deployment, other military requests are being considered. Australian forces could be used to provide support in getting oil through the strait of hormones, where one fifth of world supplies travel. Iran has been blocking access to the strait following the attacks, letting to petrol and diesel price strikes. With the latest on the Iran conflict, Channel 7 senior reporter Chris Rees joins us from Tel Aviv. Chris, can you give us a snapshot of what's exactly happening today? We've been hearing Israel's focus has been on Lebanon, but it's difficult to stay across it or with the war being fought on so many fronts right now. Yeah, well, look at me, you and me both. It's so difficult to keep up with. I think even experts are sort of the heads of spinning with the speed that this story is evolving. And the situation here is geopolitically and geographically, it's moving at break next B, but to break it down in the headline moment at the last 24 hours. I think mostly capturing goggles and certainly the reactions

3:03I've been getting back home are the extraordinary scenes we've seen now that Israel and the US have started targeting the oil infrastructure in Iran and Tehran especially. 30 separate oil refineries and installations have been struck by their air firepower overnight and we have seen extraordinary explosions, incredible pictures of these things just bursting into flames. The amount of environmental damage that's being inflicted right now is really quite extraordinary. But as those refineries blew up at one point, burning oil was leaking into the drainage system in Tehran Street so you had these fires bursting out of manholes and up through the street infrastructure. And today when they woke up, it was difficult to see daylight, difficult to see sunrise. The air is black. Now, as we know, this conflict has gone regional very quickly from its very early days as Iran, lashed out not just at its ancient age old enemy Israel

4:04and not just at US bases, but surprisingly at long time former much allies, but at least regional partners, if you like, in around their neighborhood, effectively hitting the UAE and Qatar and Bahrain and Oman and Saudi Arabia. And the list goes on. Is this thrashing, dying state was just lashing out at everything. And we've seen in the last 24 hours again, more hits at the UAE. And Australians, I think, were really concerned. And we ran this as licks or at last night when, again, another incident, another drone attack was thrown into Dubai airport. Now, that airport, we have all gone through. There's nobody in Australia that wouldn't have traveled that route. It's a major transit lane for Australians going into Europe and around to the Middle East and beyond. And there are always thousands of people there. And there's some 115,000 Australians registered in that area, not just in Dubai, obviously, but around that area.

5:06Just that use that airport a lot. And there are hundreds of Australians in the time that was struck. So frightening seems to them. Nobody injured. Nobody caught up on it. And the planes, the Emirates had last night, took off. And those people got back to Melbourne in one piece, but they were telling frightening stories about what they saw at that airport. That's on that front. And then you bring up Lebanon. Lebanon is a critical development in this war. It's a sidebar conflict, but it's a really important one. And it's Lebanon, immediately north of Israel, home to Hezbollah, the terrorist organization, a list of terrorist organizations in Australia, and certainly the considered terrorists here in Israel. Israel has seen the opportunity now to attack Hezbollah and really try and inflict damage. They want to get rid of and wipe out that terrorist organization. And what they've done is throw airplanes, fighter jets across southern Israel all the way up to the capital, Beirut,

6:06and strike the what they call Hezbollah target. But what we've seen are entire buildings brought down. Multistory, medium density, high rise, just collapsing under the weight of this extraordinary ordinance that the Israeli fighter jets are dropping. And then on top of that, we're up there yesterday watching this happen as tanks and artillery and mobile artillery in northern Israel were firing up shells from the south into Lebanon as well. And you know, this is their opportunity they see to really once and for all try and get rid of Hezbollah create some sort of buffer zone between their two countries. So that they feel some sort of safety, some sort of, you know, distance between any potential for that organization to strike again. And for the audience that might not know Israel and most of the Western world consider that Hezbollah is completely funded by Iran. It's a, it's what we call a proxy, a partner state, a partner organization that Iran has been feeding and fueling

7:07for years with weapons and money. And so for Israel, it's a two front war Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. One of the UK's most notorious child killers in Huntly has died days after he was attacked by a fellow inmate in the workshop of a maximum security prison. The 52-year-old former school caretaker was convicted in 2003 for the murder of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, two 10-year-old girls who vanished on August 4, 2002, after leaving above a queue to buy sweets. A group of hikers discovered the girls remains beside a dirt path in a watered area a few miles from their village 13 days later. A photo of the girls wearing matching red Manchester United football shirts taken just before they disappeared, became a fixture of front pages and news broadcasts. The family's grief further impacted years later. After it was revealed the girls' phones were caught up in the news of the world hacking scandal, where journalists access their voicemails. Huntly denied murdering the two girls, but was convicted and sentenced to serve at least 40 years behind bars.

8:08While in prison, he survived repeated attempts on his life and was kept under close protection, along with other notorious killers. UK media has reported that murderer and rapist Anthony Russell was responsible for the attack that ultimately led to Huntly's death. He'd been on life support after being hit repeatedly over the head with a metal bar. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has confirmed that the former royal couple will be heading to Australia next month. A statement released yesterday claims Harry and Meghan will be heading down under in mid-April to take part in a number of private business and philanthropic engagements and that further details will be shared in due course. They'll reportedly be visiting Sydney and Melbourne, but it's not yet confirmed whether their children Archie and Lily Bet will be coming with them. Thanks Claire next, why you should or shouldn't, cancel your travel plans this year. Right now, Australians are caught in the middle of a geopolitical mess they have zero control over. Of course, when we talk about holidays and flight plans,

9:09we know that's only part of this story. There are people in the region living through air strikes and displacement and Australians caught up in it who are just trying to get home safely. The latest round of strikes in and around Iran has turned key Middle East hubs into no-go zones for days at a time, leaving travelers sleeping on terminal floors, watching their flights get cancelled and re-booked on loop, or waiting for rare seeds out on repatriation flights. We've started to see the first plane loads of Aussie's touch back down here, but with many more still stuck in limbo and others unsure of their departure plans out of Australia, we're turning to the travel industry wondering, well, what's the future of travel for the remainder of 2026? The big issue for us is geography. For the last couple of decades, the quickest and cheapest way to reach Europe has been through Middle Eastern hubs like Dubai and Doha, so when those hubs are under threat, not just their airspace, but the airports themselves,

10:09it proves a problem for Australian travelers. Safety experts say airlines can and do reroute around closed airspace, like they have with Ukraine, but when the stopover points are part of the problem, it gets much messier. So what we're seeing now is a scramble to shift routes. Quantess Virgin and their partners are leaning more heavily on Asian hubs to get people to London, Paris or Rome, while golf carriers like Emirates and Etihad scale back, then edge back in as the risk changes day by day. While we're seeing flights from the Middle East slowly trickle back into Australia, Foreign Minister Penny Wong is stressing they still can be cancelled the last minute if the security picture shifts. All of this has a price tag. Aviation experts are warning that if the conflict drags on, Australians are likely to face months of higher fares, both because of oil prices rising and because fewer flights mean more demand for every available seat. The estimate right now is that travellers could feel the flow on effect for four to five months,

11:10which takes us right through to that northern summer window when heaps of Aussies have already booked leave. The Department of Foreign Affairs, aka the Aussie government team that handles travel advice and helps out those overseas, is telling would-be travelers to think very carefully about new bookings that rely on Middle East hubs and to keep checking the Smart Traveler website as the situation evolves. The message from officials is that the conflict has spread faster and wider than anyone expected. Multiple countries across the region suffered strikes in the first 72 hours alone, and that no government can guarantee a seamless exit if things escalate again. Commercial flights are still the first and best option, while military rescues are a last resort, not a backup plan you can bank on. So should you just stay put and write off 2026? Most people in the industry are saying no, but with some big caveats. Monique Van Gelder is the global product leader at Flight Centre.

12:11Monique, for people who've got your book this year and they're watching the news, seeing all the updates, what's your honest answer to this question? Should they still be going? So right now there is people that have got trips and we're saying speak to your travel agent or the airline wherever you've booked that trip. All airlines right now have situational policies as to what the impact and the changes and flexibility around that right now. So making sure that you don't cancel, don't be rushed with that. So make sure you're making the most of those situational policies that are out there right now. So we've heard don't panic cancel, like you've just said there. Can you explain to us why doing that is maybe the wrong move? Yeah, so travel insurance doesn't come so for airlines and your tour and cruise companies, they're all working through the situational policies and providing a level of flexibility in that. And that's probably the best to make sure

13:12that you're using that and maximising those policies rather than where we've got travel insurance that won't cover you in this case. Now while we don't know when this conflict will necessarily end, there's been some advice banding around that we should avoid travelling to or through the Middle East for the next five or so months. Is that realistic though? I mean, how are these big carriers going to get around getting to Europe from Australia if not through the Middle East? Yeah, really great question. So right now there is so many ways that you can get to Europe and keep in mind that there are so many places we can travel that don't go anywhere near the Middle East as well. But if you are still going to the Middle East then there's a lot of Asian carriers all looking to go to Europe. There is a lot of Asian carriers that are going through Singapore, for instance Singapore Airlines, Cathay going through Hong Kong and they fly outside of these conflict regions so they've got flight passes safe

14:13and flying outside of those and around that area. So definitely there is alternate ways to get there. But there's also alternate regions. So the US right now, so we've got from Australia, New Zealand, VG, Tropical Islands, Asia, all areas that don't go anywhere near the Middle East. In terms of travellers who are maybe a little bit hesitant to go overseas and case something does happen and then they're feeling like they're stuck. Are there countries that are maybe safer for that reason? Many countries that are closely allied with Australia or we know that the embassy relationship is really good. Is there sort of a few there that you would call out? Australia is really strong relationships with a lot of countries. But again, I don't have a crystal ball on any of these. However, definitely right now, all of the South Pacific so New Zealand, the Southeast Asia and Asian countries and the US. So definitely all those places are fantastic holiday destinations. Yeah, it's a big beautiful world

15:14with lots and lots to see. But I do just want to ask you one more question on a potential Euro summer. Comes from one of our listeners, Katie, she's asked if flying direct non-stop from Australia to say London or Paris, Rome, I think is the other one that we offer in Australia. Is that still okay? Would they just change where they fly to get there? Yeah, they will all find safe flight pass and airlines are making sure that they're following those new flight pass that they've been given based on safety. Okay, as we know, when a conflict breaks out, it has lots of flow on effects. Obviously, it's devastating in the region that it's taking place. But then further abroad, we see prices of things go up like fuel and oil. We've also seen airfare prices rise too. Are there particular routes or maybe dates that you suggest maybe avoiding to keep those costs down? Yeah, so definitely people in the trend is we're starting to see shoulder seasons rather than high seasons become really popular.

16:15There has never been a better time than booking your seats now because there's definitely that conversation about oil prices going up and airfare's going up due to that. So, definitely securing your seats early and making sure that you're getting those seats is really important. And what else would you say you need to travelers who are still booking for travel this year in terms of insurance before they head on the plane? What should they be looking for? Definitely insurance. Travel insurance is really important because you don't know what medical you may need or all those other things that actually travel insurance colors. So, really important to have a conversation with your travel agent about the right level of cover for you and making sure that you're looking at change of mind all of those things to make sure that you are covered should you be traveling this year. What about like fully refundable tickets? I know that at the time of booking a lot of us go, ah, that's an extra cost that I don't want to pay right now but given the current climate

17:15would you suggest maybe reconsidering that? Under a percent. Yeah, looking at what is included in your effort or your tour or cruise or holiday and looking at where cancellation change and refund charges apply and what those are really important to look at. And your travel agent can go through all those with you to make sure that it's the right level of cover and you've got peace of mind because that's the most important thing. Finally, Feminic. The families who are tempted to just delay the big overseas trip till next year or when things come down. What's your advice to them? Is it actually safer to wait or maybe just looking at re-routing where your trip is this year? Yeah, I think there's plenty of options for families out there so I definitely recommend still taking that holiday. Thanks for taking some time to feed your mind with us today. The Quickie is produced by me, Table Astrono, Georgie Page and Clermurphy with audio production by Jacob Brownt.

18:18Mamma Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters that this podcast is recorded on.