'Avoid non-essential travel' to Middle East as travel advice updated
Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has upgraded its travel advice for the Gulf States, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the status of 'avoid non-essential travel', amid ongoing conflict in the region.The DFA advice remains that Irish citizens should not travel to either Iran or Israel at this time, following missile attacks launched over the weekend that have resulted in the deaths of hundreds. The Irish Travel Agents Association is advising those who had plans to travel to, or those currently holidaying in the Gulf States, to contact their ITAA travel agent and to follow the advice of the DFA.Tom Randles, President of the Irish Travel Agents Association said: "I would strongly recommend that anyone thinking of traveling to the Middle East should read the Department of Foreign Affairs travel advice and check with their ITAA travel agent before making any bookings. The ITAA advice to any prospective Irish travellers who may have already booked a holiday to any destination in the Middle East is to immediately check with both your travel agent and your travel insurance. When the DFA advise to 'Avoid Essential Travel' to a particular country, UAE in this instance, it usually means that the travel insurance policy will not cover travel to that country."Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Helen McEntee and UAE Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke by phone today to discuss the ongoing tensions in the region. Amid great uncertainty about the safety of various areas in the region, the ongoing advice is to continue to monitor the updated advice from the DFA and to keep devices charged in case power is compromised.Mr Randles continued: "Our advice to anyone in any of the Gulf States is to maintain contact with the airline you travelled on, maintain contact with your travel agent or tour operator, keep your mobile phone charged, and follow closely local media reports and advice. It is also strongly recommended that you register with the Department of Foreign Affairs online at https://citizensregistration.dfa.ie/. You can also contact the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade consular team in Dublin at +353 1 4082000.""As of now, there are no evacuation routes recommended for Gulf countries and so the advice is to shelter in place. Remain where you are until instructed otherwise."Want to see more of the stories you love from Dublin Live? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Dublin Live as a preferred source, simply click here.
