Houthi Missiles Hit Saudi Arabia, Smartraveller Tightens Advisory

Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport on Monday, the first claimed attack on the kingdom since a four-year truce took hold in 2022. Saudi air defences intercepted the volley. The Saudi-led coalition called it a flagrant violation of ceasefire agreements. No casualties were reported at Abha.

Australia has responded by tightening the language on its Smartraveller travel advice for the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The level remains at “Reconsider your need to travel,” but for the first time the warning applies in plain terms to passengers in transit through Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha. For a traveller in Sydney booking a flight to London, the strike in southern Saudi Arabia now lands as a question about which airport to fly through.

Houthi Missiles Hit Saudi Arabia, Ending Four Years of Quiet

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree announced the strike in a video statement on Telegram. “The Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation targeting Abha International Airport, using a number of ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles,” he said, as reported by the missile strike on Abha International Airport. Saree warned all airlines against flying in Saudi airspace “until the blockade on Sana’a International Airport is lifted.”

Saudi Arabia’s coalition spokesman, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, said on X that Saudi air defences “intercepted a ballistic missile threat launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the Kingdom’s southern region,” according to the Saudi coalition statement on the missile interception. He called the attack “a flagrant violation of ceasefire agreements” and warned the coalition would respond with “firmness and unprecedented force.”

The strike was the first claimed by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia since a UN-brokered truce took effect in 2022. That agreement ended a cycle of Houthi cross-border attacks on Saudi oil installations and other infrastructure. It had largely held through regional escalations tied to the Israel-Gaza war and the Iran war. The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting on Monday, at which Assistant Secretary-General for political affairs Khaled Khiari warned that “Yemen and the wider region cannot afford another cycle of escalation.”

The new attack came against a backdrop of renewed US-Iran conflict that had already pushed Australia to lower its Gulf travel warning in June. With this latest escalation, the Australian government toughened its language again. Saudi Arabia itself continued to export oil via a pipeline from its east to its west coast on the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.

The Mahan Air Flight That Lit the Fuse

The escalation began with a dispute over an Iranian civilian aircraft. Yemen’s internationally recognised government, based in Aden, said it had struck the runway at Sanaa International Airport on Monday to stop a Mahan Air Airbus A340-300 from landing in the Houthi-held capital.

The Iranian flight had been carrying a Houthi delegation home from the funeral of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The government denied the landing request and accused the Houthis of trying to bring the aircraft in “outside the legal and sovereign frameworks governing civil aviation.” The plane diverted to Hodeidah Airport on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, and all Yemeni airports were temporarily closed before reopening hours later.

The Houthis blamed Saudi Arabia for the Sanaa strike and announced an end to the period of de-escalation. The Houthi-run Saba news agency had earlier posted photos of the Iranian ambassador to Yemen in Sanaa, framing direct flights between Iran and the rebel-held capital as a new chapter in Tehran-Houthi ties. The wider backdrop includes Israel’s response to Houthi missile launches in 2025, which set the pattern for direct strikes on Houthi-held territory.

Smartraveller Tougher, Level Still 3

Smartraveller updated its advice for the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday, July 12, a day before the Houthi strike. The previous wording on those pages said simply “there remains a risk of military action.”

The new wording is direct about what has happened. Per how Smartraveller’s language changed this week, the UAE advisory now reads in part: “Military strikes and reprisal attacks have occurred in a number of locations in the Middle East in recent days, including directed towards targets” in the Emirates. It adds that “UAE airspace may open or close at short notice, impacting flights at Abu Dhabi and Dubai International Airports.” Travellers can check the current travel advice for the United Arab Emirates for the full text.

“Reconsider” Now Means “Reconsider Transit”

This is the first time Smartraveller has spelled out so clearly that the Level 3 warning covers passengers who never planned to leave the airport. DFAT says “Reconsidering whether you need to travel also means reconsidering your need to transit,” per Australia’s revised Middle East travel advisory. The department adds that travellers who must use the hubs should “stay as short a time as possible and eliminate unnecessary activities.” A DFAT spokesperson told the Sydney Morning Herald the situation “remains unpredictable and conditions could deteriorate rapidly.”

The shift matters because most flights from Australia to Europe route through one of the Gulf hubs. Between 1 and 1.4 million Australians a year used the Middle East as their route to Europe before the conflict escalated in February, according to ABS and BITRE data cited by the Sydney Morning Herald. Bloomberg figures put Gulf transit at roughly a third of airline traffic to Europe, or about 40 million passengers a year. The regional backdrop, including the wave of Iran-triggered shutdowns across Gulf states, has reshaped which routes are running at all.

A snapshot of the affected travel system, drawn from Smartraveller pages and coverage this week:

• 1 to 1.4 million Australians a year had routed through the Middle East before the conflict escalated in February.
• 40 million passengers a year pass through Gulf hubs on Europe routes, per Bloomberg figures cited by the Sydney Morning Herald.
• 150,000 Australians safely transited UAE and Qatar hubs between the June downgrade and the latest escalation, per ATIA chief executive Dean Long.
• 200,000 passengers a day were expected at Dubai International in early July, per airport statements cited by The National.

Airlines and the Gulf Bottleneck

Gulf airlines have so far kept most planes in the air. In Dubai, two flights to Saudi Arabia were cancelled on Tuesday after the Abha strike, and the return flights to Dubai and Sharjah were also pulled.

Air Astana suspended its Dubai services for Monday and Tuesday, citing “the ongoing escalation of the situation in the Middle East.” Some non-Gulf carriers remain grounded months into the conflict. British Airways will not resume Dubai flights until October 25, KLM until August 23 at the earliest, and Lufthansa and SWISS have paused Dubai services into September.

Insurance is the open question for many travellers. The Insurance Council of Australia says most policies exclude claims caused by war, armed conflict or military action, and a Level 3 advisory may still trigger exclusions depending on the wording. The Insurance Council says every claim is assessed individually. Travellers who bought policies after the latest escalation may also face “known event” exclusions, per Cruise Passenger coverage.

Australian Travel Industry Association chief executive Dean Long told the Sydney Morning Herald that Level 3 “is not a green light for travel to the Middle East.” Long added that his industry wants the warning to hold at Level 3 “if there are no attacks on airports,” noting no strikes have hit UAE or Qatari airports since May.

The Path Back to Level 4

It’s easier politically for governments to raise the travel warning when a security crisis occurs, than to lower it.

Those are the words of Ian Kemish, a former DFAT official who helped establish the Smartraveller country warning system after the 2002 Bali bombings. Kemish told the Sydney Morning Herald that a return to Level 4 for the UAE and Qatar is a “fair assumption” given the renewed violence.

A current DFAT spokesperson said the situation “remains unpredictable and conditions could deteriorate rapidly.” The department keeps all advisories under continuous review.

A return to Level 4 would reinstate the insurance wall that blocked many travellers from being covered during the early months of 2026. Long said his industry would push for Level 3 to hold “if there are no attacks on airports.” The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting on Monday at which Assistant Secretary-General for political affairs Khaled Khiari warned that “Yemen and the wider region cannot afford another cycle of escalation.” U.N. special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg urged both sides to preserve the relative calm that has held since 2022. The broader regional pressure, including oil price moves after the US Iran blockade, has made every Gulf incident more combustible than the 2022 truce assumed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does “reconsider your need to travel” actually mean?

It is Level 3 of Smartraveller’s four-level scale, sitting one rung below Level 4 “Do Not Travel.” The advisory asks Australians to “postpone non-essential travel,” and the latest update makes plain that this applies to passengers in transit, not only those leaving the airport. Level 3 is a step DFAT keeps under continuous review, with the explicit warning that conditions could shift with little notice.

Can I still transit through Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha?

Yes. Smartraveller’s advice to those who must use the Gulf hubs is to keep the visit as short as possible and to eliminate unnecessary activities. Airspace may open or close at short notice, which is why the advisory applies even to passengers who never planned to leave the airport. For most connecting travellers this means remaining airside, monitoring airline and airport alerts, and avoiding extended stopovers.

Is my travel insurance still valid?

Not necessarily. The Insurance Council of Australia says most policies exclude claims caused by war, armed conflict or military action, and every claim is assessed individually. Travellers should contact their insurer in writing and ask whether Level 3 transit is covered, and check for any “known event” exclusion on policies bought after the latest escalation.

Has Smartraveller changed its advice for Saudi Arabia?

Smartraveller lowered Saudi Arabia from Level 4 “Do Not Travel” to Level 3 “Reconsider your need to travel” on June 17, alongside Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. Yemen, where the Sanaa airport strike triggered this week’s escalation, remains at Level 4.

Should I cancel my upcoming trip?

Industry guidance is mixed. ATIA chief executive Dean Long says passengers should not cancel simply because a warning has changed, because voluntary cancellation may forfeit airline refund or rebooking rights. Dr David Beirman, an adjunct fellow in tourism at the University of Technology Sydney, told the Canberra Times he would not personally book Gulf transit right now and advised trying Asia or Turkish routes if possible.