The Foreign Office dropped its advice against travelling to Dubai on Thursday, easing a warning that had been hanging over British trips to the UAE. The move means people heading to the country will no longer risk invalidating travel insurance because of the advice.
The timing matters because the change came after the US and Iran reached an agreement to stop the war, and thousands of Britons had been left stranded in the Middle East when the conflict broke out. Many airlines pulled or delayed services to the region during that period, while Dubai remained one of the biggest draws for UK holidaymakers, with more than 1.4 million Britons visiting last year.
But the removal of the advice is not a full all-clear. The Foreign Office still warned British citizens that the situation remains unpredictable in the region, and its travel page for the United Arab Emirates said attacks could resume at short notice. It also said the US and Iran had announced a memorandum of understanding in relation to the conflict in the Middle East, while noting that before the 8 April ceasefire, the Iranian regime had said it intended to target locations in the Gulf associated with the United States and Israel.
That caution helps explain why airlines have not moved back in lockstep. Virgin Atlantic suspended flights until winter 2027 after the war started and said on Thursday that its suspension remains the case. British Airways said earlier in June that it would not resume flights to the UAE until October 2026. Emirates has continued operating flights to the region during the conflict, giving travellers at least one steady option even as the wider schedule has been unsettled.
Mark Tanzer said he expected the change to have a positive impact on travel to the region, and said government advice is a major factor in whether people feel confident enough to book. He said many travellers had been waiting to see what happened with the conflict in the Middle East before committing to summer plans, and added that if they were still undecided, now was the time to book. The question now is not whether the warning mattered, but how quickly demand and airline capacity recover once travellers decide the danger has eased enough to take the risk.
