Middle East travel fears have been played down by tourism security expert Dr Peter Tarlow after strikes on Saudi Arabia’s main airport left more than a dozen people dead.
Australia’s Smartraveller has urged people to reconsider whether they need to travel to Saudi Arabia. Travellers due to fly from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh have also been advised to confirm their flights before setting out.
Dr Tarlow told Sunrise on Tuesday that, while no journey could be considered completely safe, he would not be unduly concerned about travelling through the region.
“If I were going from Australia through Dubai, I would not be terribly worried,” he said.
Smartraveller recently changed its advice for the United Arab Emirates and Qatar from “do not travel” to “exercise a high degree of caution due to the threat of terrorism and the unpredictable security situation in the region”.
Alleged FlyDubai hijacking attempt
The warnings follow an alleged attempt to seize control of a FlyDubai aircraft. Hamam al-Hammami allegedly intended to crash the plane into the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.
More than 100 people were on flight FZ1073 when al-Hammami allegedly stabbed the co-pilot with an emergency axe and forced the aircraft into a rapid descent on September 30.
The captain and several passengers restrained him, and the aircraft was diverted to Saudi Arabia, where it landed safely.
Dr Tarlow said incidents involving pilots or people aboard aircraft were not unprecedented. “There are multiple people, multiple times that this has happened,” he said.
He urged travellers not to panic, advising them to use common sense and seek information from several sources before deciding which route to take.
“Whenever we travel, we have to be aware of our surroundings and the reality that there is no 100 per cent safety,” he said.
Dr Tarlow also suggested checking whether a destination had a tourism police force and contacting it directly for information about local safety conditions.
