10,000 Australians return home from Middle East as government warns those who remain

More than 10,000 Australians have returned home from the Middle East, but the government has warned the regional situation could still “deteriorate rapidly” and has urged anyone remaining not to delay their departures.

As of Tuesday morning, 10,372 Australians had returned home on 103 direct commercial flights from the region since March 4, after the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran less than a week prior triggered chaos in the region.

Thousands more Australians have also departed the Middle East after being caught up in the conflict while transiting through popular travel hubs like Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi airports.

In a statement, Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the milestone as a “significant” one that reflected “the scale of the combined efforts to support Australians depart the region”.

She thanked regional partners and commercial airlines for their “close and ongoing co-operation in facilitating these efforts”.

“Australia continues to support dialogue and diplomacy. We want to see an end to the conflict. The longer this war goes on, the worse the impacts will be,” she said.

“While there are talks to end the conflict, the situation in the Middle East remains volatile and could deteriorate rapidly.

“Australians should not delay their departure from the region given the continued uncertainty.

“Our message is simple: if you can secure a flight out of the Middle East and it’s safe to travel to the airport, leave now while commercial options are available.”

Ms Wong said the government was focused on taking all the necessary precautions to keep Australians safe.

Smartraveller advises Australians not to travel to Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, the UAE and Yemen.

It urges people to reconsider the need to travel to Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and exercise a high degree of caution in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Egypt and Turkey.