Powder Keg Middle East

The already fragile security situation in the Middle East escalated dramatically on Saturday. The governments of Israel and the United States announced that they had launched military operations against the Islamic Republic of Iran, citing the collapse of nuclear negotiations and security threats as reasons.

A few hours later, Tehran responded with massive counterattacks, bombing several US bases in the region. These included bases in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, as well as targets in Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. At the same time, Israeli territory was also fired with missiles.

The escalating military situation is having a direct impact on international travel. The airspace over Qatar, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates is temporarily closed. Several international airlines are rerouting flights or suspending departures. Austrian Airlines reacted immediately and temporarily suspended all flights to the Middle East. Specifically affected are flights to Dubai until March 1, flights to Tel Aviv, Amman and Erbil until March 7 and flights to Tehran until the end of March. In addition, certain airspace over Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Bahrain is currently not in use for security reasons.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry has issued a level 4 travel warning for Israel. This warning was already in effect for Iran, Lebanon and Iraq. Travelers are strongly advised to avoid non-essential travel to the entire region.