Australian travel industry calls for Middle East transit advice review over insurance concerns

The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) has launched a public campaign urging the government to reconsider the Level 4 ‘Do Not Travel’ advisories currently applied to destinations including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, where major international airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha continue to serve as critical transit points for long-haul travel.

ATIA said the current advice risked leaving travellers exposed to unexpected insurance complications while transiting through airports in the region, even though many passengers remain airside and never formally enter the destination country.

The Association said concerns had been raised by travel agents and tour operators whose clients were continuing to transit through the hubs without incident but were increasingly worried about the impact of travel advisories on insurance cover.

Dean Long, chief executive of ATIA, said the organisation was seeking a more proportionate approach that distinguished between airport transits and in-country travel.

He argued that a Level 3 advisory, which advises travellers to reconsider their need to travel, would better reflect the risk profile of passengers making short connections through international airports.

According to ATIA, more than 150,000 Australians had transited through Middle Eastern hubs since the heightened advisories were introduced.

The debate highlighted the complex relationship between government travel advice and travel insurance. While some insurers take official advisories into account when assessing cover, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) said the existence of a “Do Not Travel” warning does not automatically invalidate a policy.

The ICA stated that claims are assessed individually and that losses unrelated to armed conflict may still be covered, even if a traveller is in a destination subject to a Level 4 advisory. However, war and armed conflict remain standard exclusions across travel insurance policies globally.

The insurance industry body declared the Middle East conflict a Significant Event in March 2026, enabling insurers to coordinate responses and support affected policyholders.

ATIA said it had spent recent months engaging with government officials and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on the issue.

The association warned that maintaining advisories perceived as inconsistent with conditions experienced by transit passengers risked undermining confidence in official travel guidance.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had not announced any changes to its travel advice at the time of writing.

Go Insurance launches war disruption cover

Meanwhile, Go Insurance has launched a specialist travel insurance extension designed to provide limited financial and medical support if travellers are unexpectedly affected by war or armed conflict after their trip has already begun.

The Australia-based insurer said the ‘War & Armed Conflict Disruption Cover’ would be available through travel agents and distributors, offering what it described as “a clearer framework for managing one of the most contentious gaps in traditional travel insurance products”.

Under this structure, eligible policies will automatically provide limited medical cover if a traveller is injured or needs assistance due to an unforeseen conflict event while overseas.

An optional upgrade would extend protection to certain additional travel and accommodation costs if itineraries were disrupted after departure.

The company said the optional component could contribute towards expenses such as additional accommodation, re-routing, transport changes, and early return flights, subject to policy limits and conditions.

Go Insurance positioned the new product as a response to what it described as growing demand from travel agents for clearer explanations and more structured support when clients ask how policies respond to geopolitical disruption mid-trip.

The cover applies only to new and unexpected events occurring after departure, and excludes known or ongoing conflicts or destinations subject to government “Do Not Travel” advisories prior to travel. The company also said travellers must not be actively involved in the conflict for claims to be valid.

The insurer said the product was intended to provide defined limits rather than open-ended protection, with total disruption benefits capped per insured person depending on the selected level of cover.

Go Insurance said the launch formed part of a broader strategy to develop niche travel products aligned with specific modern risk scenarios, including previous offerings such as Covid-era cover and cancel-for-any-reason options.