The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has revised travel guidance for 13 countries within the past 24 hours as the Middle East conflict continues to cause global disruption. The US-Israeli war on Iran has entered its sixth day, with flights carrying stranded Britons scheduled to arrive in the UK.
The first government rescue flight and a British Airways commercial service from Muscat were expected early Thursday, but a technical issue at Oman's airport delayed the chartered aircraft. With 138,000 Britons registered in the Middle East, only about 1,000 have returned on commercial services since the war began.
Updated advisories include: against all but essential travel to Eastern Province and Riyadh Province in Saudi Arabia; against all travel or all but essential travel to all areas of Lebanon; and temporary withdrawal of some staff from Bahrain. New warnings cover potential disruption in Nepal during elections, and travel disruption in Georgia, Malaysia, Oman, Tajikistan, Djibouti, Kuwait, Thailand, and Jordan.
The FCDO now advises against all travel to within 10km of Saudi Arabia's border with Yemen, and against all travel to Russian-occupied regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. It also warns of a high terrorist threat globally and urges Britons in Kuwait to register their presence.
