Although the last scheduled British Airways repatriation service from Muscat touched down safely at Heathrow in the early hours of 13 March, the FCDO has reiterated that escalating regional hostilities could force further airspace closures across the Gulf. In updated United Arab Emirates travel advice issued this week, the department confirms that dependants of UK Embassy staff have been temporarily withdrawn as a precaution and urges remaining British residents to register for potential government-organised departures. Passengers are told not to travel to airports unless airlines have re-confirmed bookings, because ad-hoc slot availability is changing by the hour as carriers contour around Iranian and Iraqi flight-information regions. Corporate mobility teams with staff on assignment in Dubai and Abu Dhabi should ensure passports have at least six months’ validity and that e-Visas for onward-travel destinations (notably for Schengen states) are obtained in advance in case diversion routes through Oman, Jordan or Saudi Arabia become the only option. Travel-risk consultants report average Heathrow–Dubai block times running up to 2 hours longer than last month, pushing some crew beyond duty-time limits and causing secondary delays on European feeder legs. Premium passengers are also encountering lounge overcrowding as airlines consolidate services into larger wide-body equipment. The FCDO is maintaining its advice against all but essential travel to the UAE and says travellers should have contingency funds to cover extended hotel stays if onward flights are postponed.
