Australia on Wednesday eased its travel advisories for several Middle Eastern countries, allowing Australians to transit through and travel to the Gulf’s largest aviation hubs with guaranteed insurance coverage.
اضافة اعلان
Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that Australia had downgraded its previous "Do Not Travel" advisory for Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, after the United States and Iran reached an interim agreement ending the war between them.
She noted that the recommendation has been changed to "Reconsider your need to travel" to those countries, as the security situation could still deteriorate quickly and without prior warning.
The removal of the "Do Not Travel" advice marks a positive step for Gulf airlines. Aviation data firm Cirium stated that these carriers used to transport more than half of the passengers from Europe to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands before the outbreak of the war on Iran in late February.
Many Australian travelers, concerned about missile and drone risks, flight schedule disruptions, and a lack of travel insurance coverage, had favored flights operated by airlines like Qantas, Singapore Airlines, and Cathay Pacific that route through Asia, driving up airfares.
Flight Centre Travel Group said on Wednesday that travelers who had pre-booked flights to Europe via the Middle East had typically been modifying or canceling their plans, partly due to the government warning.
Regaining Market Share
Emirates said last week that it would offer incentives aimed at attracting travelers concerned about the prolonged duration of the Iranian war, focusing on reliability and customer support rather than slashing fares, as oil prices remain high.
Nathan Gee, head of Asia-Pacific transportation research at Bank of America Global Research, said that the reinstatement of travel insurance and more competitive pricing would help Gulf carriers regain their share of flights from Australia to Europe and the UK, though the shift will likely be gradual.
"Asian airlines, like Singapore Airlines, will remain well-positioned for the near term, as some travelers prefer to use Asian airports for greater certainty and ease of transit," he added.
He noted that pricing is expected to continue improving over the next few quarters for Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific, even as Gulf airlines restore capacity and competition intensifies, because long-haul flights are typically booked five to six months in advance.
Jet fuel prices more than doubled following the outbreak of the Iranian war, prompting many airlines to raise ticket prices, cut capacity, and impose fuel surcharges.
However, price increases eased as prospects for a peace agreement improved. Singapore jet fuel was priced at around $116 per barrel on Tuesday—higher than its pre-war price of around $80, but less than half of its peak price of $242 recorded on March 30.
Oil prices fell by more than 2% on Tuesday to a three-month low, following a nearly 5% drop on Monday after the announcement of the U.S.-Iran agreement. However, industry officials say that a full recovery of oil and gas production in the Middle East will take months.
Reuters
