Australia eases Gulf travel warnings after US-Iran deal

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia has lowered its travel advisories for several Middle Eastern countries following a temporary agreement between the United States and Iran, Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced. Wong said the "do not travel" warning previously in place for Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates has been changed to "reconsider your need to travel." She cautioned that the security situation could still deteriorate rapidly and without warning. Gulf-based carriers are expected to benefit from the change. According to flight data company Cirium, those airlines carried more than half of all passengers traveling from Europe to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands before the Iran war began in late February. The risk of missile and drone strikes, flight cancellations and limited insurance coverage had pushed many Australian travelers to reroute through Asian hubs such as Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific, driving up ticket prices. Flight Centre Travel Group said travelers who had pre-booked routes through the Middle East to Europe had either changed their plans or cancelled them because of the government advisory.