The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has amended its Palestine travel advice for the second time in as many weeks, adding a dedicated online assistance form for British nationals – including dual-citizens – who find themselves in “urgent or exceptional circumstances” inside Gaza, the West Bank or Israel and need help coordinating with commercial airlines. The update, published late on 12 March, comes as limited outbound services from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport gradually restart under strict Israeli Home Front Command regulations. Capacity on El Al, Israir, Arkia and the new Air Haifa services is currently capped and seats are selling out within minutes, leaving many UK passport-holders with no clear route home. Under the new procedure, travellers must upload passport details and evidence of eligibility before officials will liaise with carriers on their behalf. The FCDO stresses that applicants must use a valid British passport and will be prioritised according to medical need, the presence of dependants, and length of time stranded. Although the UK continues to advise against all travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, many British companies have contractors on multi-year infrastructure and NGO projects in the region. Mobility managers are being urged to review duty-of-care policies, ensure travellers register their presence, and reconfirm insurance cover now that standard exclusions for ‘war zones’ are in force. Practically, employers should build in at least ten days of flexibility for repatriation and encourage staff to monitor flight options from alternative gateways such as Amman, Eilat/Taba and Larnaca. The FCDO says commercial options remain “subject to change at short notice” and warns that road crossings can close without notice if security deteriorates.
