OK, so the world looks a little crazy right now. Let’s talk about it.
I have had more conversations in the past two weeks than I can count, and if there is one thing I keep hearing, it is this: people are overwhelmed. Not just the ones who were caught up in it directly, but the ones watching from home too, with trips booked and questions swirling and no idea what to ask.
So I wanted to sit down and write something honest. Not a press release, not a list of tips, just me, talking about what has been happening and what it has looked like from where I have been sitting.
Because the Middle East situation has been a lot. And the travel disruption that came with it has been genuinely significant for Australians, many of whom found themselves stranded, rerouted, or staring at a holiday they had saved for and not knowing whether to go or pull out.
On 1 March 2026, coordinated missile strikes across the Gulf triggered the near total closure of airspace over Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Israel, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, and parts of Jordan and Oman. In a single weekend, the aviation world changed dramatically.
The Gulf is not simply a region. For Australians, it is the gateway to almost everywhere. Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi sit at the very centre of global long haul travel, connecting us to Europe, the UK, the Middle East, and beyond. When those hubs go quiet, we feel it acutely.
By the numbers:
115,000+ Australians stranded or transiting through affected zones (DFAT, 3 March 2026)
3,400+ flights cancelled in the first 24 hours alone, globally
65% reduction in available seats between Australia and Europe week-on-week
2,800+ flights cancelled on Sunday 1 March across Middle East airports
3 Major Gulf hub airports affected: Dubai (DXB), Doha (DOH), Abu Dhabi (AUH)
Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the response as the largest consular operation in Australia’s history. Smartraveller urged Australians not to cancel their bookings without first speaking to their airline or travel agent, as voluntary cancellations risked voiding fare entitlements and triggering additional fees.
The advice was clear: do not navigate this alone.
I will be honest with you. When a crisis like this unfolds, most travel managers do not stop to think about whether it is within business hours or outside of them. The phone rings, and you answer it. That is just what we do.
Over those first days, I was working through rebooking options for my own clients, tracking airline waivers as they were released, monitoring airline inventory in real time, and making calls to supplier partners to secure alternative routes. Every confirmed booking I held had a person behind it, and those clients needed answers.
But I also did something that felt important to me personally. I put a call out on my socials. I made it known that if anyone had a friend or family member who had booked online and suddenly found themselves with no one to call, they could reach out to me. No obligation. No pitch. Just someone to help them understand their options and work out a path forward.
For many of the people who reached out, that was all they needed. Someone to talk them through it, who understood the difference between a refundable waiver and a voluntary cancellation. Someone who could help them make a genuinely informed decision from a place of calm rather than fear.
Considering a lot of annual travellers to Europe are visiting friends and family, its connection that they have lost. Its deeper than a trip for the gram. Its family.
This is where I need to be direct, because it is something that caught a lot of travellers off guard, and understanding it matters whether you work with a travel manager or not.
Travel insurance does not cover war.
CoverMore, one of Australia’s most widely used travel insurers, confirmed in their March 2026 travel alert that there is no cover for claims arising as a result of war, invasion, act of foreign enemy, or hostilities, whether war is declared or not. The Insurance Council of Australia formally declared the conflict a known event, meaning any policy purchased after 1 March 2026 would not cover disruptions related to the conflict at all.
This left thousands of Australian travellers facing an incredibly difficult decision. Do you go ahead with a trip knowing your insurance offers limited protection? Or cancel and likely lose your funds? Do you wait and hope the situation stabilises? Or reroute through an entirely different part of the world and absorb the cost difference?
These are not simple questions. And they are not questions that an automated booking platform can help you answer. The financial stakes are real, the emotional weight is real, and the decisions are deeply personal. Having an experienced advisor who understands fare rules, supplier flexibility, and exactly what your policy does and does not cover is not a luxury in that moment. It is essential.
I have been in this industry for more than twenty years. I came into it, like most of my colleagues, because I genuinely love travel and I genuinely love helping people. That is not a marketing line. It is just our truth.
The vast majority of travel managers and agents out there got into this work for exactly that reason. Not because of the income, not because of the glamour, but because we find something deeply satisfying in helping people experience the world well.
When a crisis hits, whether it is a geopolitical event like this one, a natural disaster, a sudden airline collapse, or even a family emergency mid trip, that is when we become most visible. Travel managers are not sitting in offices waiting for crises to prove their worth. But when one arrives, something shifts. The calls get longer. The hours extend. The problem solving intensifies. Because when someone is stranded in a foreign city at midnight and they call us, we answer.
These past 2 weeks have seen that I am always accessible for my clients. I have sat on calls with crying clients, shared a cup of tea with some very worried travellers and helped many make some tough decisions about their upcoming trips.
I don’t want to see clients ever put disappointment in the same bucket as travel.
These clients have been with me for so many years that its totally normal for me to feel upset for them. I was just as excited for their trip as they were
Crises like the one playing out now remind us that travel is not just a transaction. It is one of the most significant things we do with our time and our money. It holds our anniversaries, our honeymoons, our family reunions, our bucket list moments. When something goes wrong, the loss is not just financial, it’s also deeply personal.
That is what drives me in moments like this one. Not the opportunity to acquire new clients (though I am always happy to help anyone who needs it). Not the chance to demonstrate value in the abstract. But the very real knowledge that behind every disrupted itinerary is a person who saved up for that trip, counted down to it, built memories around it in their imagination already.
When I can help someone navigate chaos and still get to their destination, or make the most of a changed plan, or simply understand their options clearly enough to make a decision they feel good about, that is the work I am here for.
That is the work all of us in this industry are here for.
And while I have spent much of this blog talking about difficulty and disruption, I want to leave you with this: the world is still extraordinarily beautiful, and so much of it is wide open and waiting.
Australian love to cruise and it is only growing year on year! Popular options like the Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection, Silversea and Seabourn or the new Disney Adventure are waiting for you!
New Zealand is as breathtaking as it has ever been, with its dramatic landscapes, world class food and wine, and the kind of warmth that makes you feel at home the moment you arrive. The South Pacific is calling, from the barefoot luxury of Fiji to the raw, unhurried beauty of Vanuatu and the Cook Islands. Tahiti and French Polynesia remain one of the most magical places on earth, those overwater bungalows, that impossibly blue water, that stillness.
And Asia. Where do you even begin. Japan is having a moment that shows no signs of slowing, Bali continues to be the reset button for many, Vietnam is one of the most captivating destinations you can experience, and Singapore welcomes you back every single time like an old friend.
There is trouble in parts of the world right now. That is true. But there is also so much wonder, so much colour, so much life. Travel is still one of the greatest things we can do for ourselves, and I for one am not ready to stop exploring. I hope you aren’t either.
If you are currently holding travel plans that involve the Middle East, or you are transiting through Dubai, Doha, or Abu Dhabi in the coming weeks, please do not make decisions in a hurry. Check the current advice on Smartraveller, contact your airline before cancelling anything voluntarily, review your insurance policy documentation carefully with attention to war exclusion
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