UK Lifts Travel Ban to Dubai, Cautions Unpredictable Situation

The Foreign Office has dropped its advice against travelling to Dubai, but warned British citizens that "the situation remains unpredictable" in the region. The announcement makes it easier for people planning to visit the popular holiday destination, after the US and Iran reached an agreement to stop the war. However, the foreign travel advice page for the United Arab Emirates said that despite the peace deal, "attacks could resume at short notice". Thousands of Britons were left stranded in the Middle East when the conflict broke out, and many airlines have suspended flights to the major travel hubs in the region. More than 1.4 million Brits visited Dubai last year and it has become a major holiday and business destination. Lifting the "do not travel" advice means that people travelling to the UAE will no longer risk invalidating their travel insurance. Despite this, there were early signs that some carriers could be slow to restart their services. Virgin Atlantic suspended flights until winter 2027 after the war started, and a spokesperson said on Thursday that this "remains the case". British Airways said earlier in June that it would not resume flights to the UAE until October 2026. Emirates, which is owned by the state, has still been operating flights to the region during the conflict. Mark Tanzer, the chief executive of Abta, an industry group for travel agents, said he expected to see a "positive impact" on travel to the region. "This is the most important development for tourism to and through the Middle East in some time, we know the government won't have taken this decision lightly," he said. "We know from our research that people have been delaying booking their summer holiday because they wanted to see what happened with the conflict in the Middle East, and that the government travel advice is an important factor in confidence to travel. "While we're not out of the woods yet, hopefully this change will open up the market more broadly – there are some very competitively priced holidays for this summer, so if you're still to book, now is the time to do it." The Foreign Office advice said: "The US and Iran have announced a memorandum of understanding in relation to the conflict in the Middle East."