Advantage chief criticises ‘illogical’ Middle East transit regulations

Advantage Travel Partnership’s chief executive has expressed frustration at the impact of FCDO advice preventing package holidaymakers from transiting via the Gulf when travellers who book independently can choose to fly.

Speaking at a press briefing held before the consortium’s annual conference in Madrid, Julia Lo Bue-Said cautioned that the growing discrepancy between carrier operations and package regulations (PTRs) is unfairly penalising agents while fuelling consumer confusion.

While Gulf carriers are now operating at approximately 90% of their pre-war capacity, the FCDO’s ‘all but essential travel’ advisories for certain transit hubs mean agents cannot legally include those flights in a protected package.

“The logic that it’s safe or not safe to go if you’re booking independently versus booking through a package is an absolute nonsense; it makes no sense at all,” said Lo Bue-Said, who added the regulations are currently “illogical” and “in conflict with each other”.

The briefing highlighted the risks facing travellers who bypass the package model, noting that while individuals can still book flight-only tickets to or through the Middle East, doing so could risk invalidating their travel insurance.

Such independent bookings also lack the legal protections afforded by the PTRs, leaving consumers vulnerable.

Lo Bue-Said questioned why British travellers are permitted to depart from the UK on flights transiting the Gulf if the destination is considered too dangerous to be sold as a protected package.

“If a flight is deemed safe to operate, why is it that they cannot transit?” she asked, suggesting the current rules create unnecessary anxiety and a “confused call to action” for the consumer.

She noted transiting via the Middle East remains the most cost-effective way to reach Asia and the current restrictions are forcing package prices up by requiring alternative, more-expensive routes.

“It just feels like something’s not quite right here,” Lo Bue-Said concluded, adding: “The burden is always with the trade; it is always with the package operators.”

Abta advice to consumers notes “ongoing conflict in parts of the Middle East continues to affect travel across the region” and states: “FCDO advice against ‘all but essential travel’ to a number of countries . . . also applies to journeys involving transit. Even where flights are operating . . . this does not necessarily mean holidays will go ahead, given the ‘all but essential’ travel restrictions.”

The association notes customers’ rights differ depending on their booking – whether a package, a flight with a UK or EU airline, or a flight with a non-UK/EU airline, with Middle East carriers not subject to UK and EU air passenger rights regulations other than on UK and EU outbound flights.