The Foreign Office has warned against all travel to Israel and Palestine
A number of airlines have cancelled flights to the Middle East after the US launched military action overnight against Iran.
The Foreign Office, meanwhile, updated its travel advice on Saturday to warn against all travel to Israel and Palestine.
In a statement on its website, the Foreign Office said: “Due to the threat posed by escalation in the region, we recommend against all travel to Israel and Palestine. On 28 February 2026, the US and Israel commenced joint military action in Iran, Israeli airspace has now closed.”
British nationals in the region are being urged to take ‘sensible precautions’, including following advice from regional authorities, staying away from military facilities and ensuring travel documents are up to date.
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Airspace over Iran and Iraq was empty on Saturday morning, maps by flight-tracking service Flightradar24 showed, with a number of airlines saying they were monitoring the situation.
Air France has reportedly cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv in Israel and Beirut in Lebanon for Saturday. Only one flight to Tel Aviv had been scheduled for Saturday.
Indigo airlines said it was monitoring regional updates, news agency Reuters reported.
German airline Lufthansa suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv in Israel, Beirut in Lebanon, and Oman until March 7 and flights to and from Dubai on Saturday and Sunday. They also said they would not add Israeli, Lebanese, Jordanian, Iraqi and Iranian airspace until March 7.
Virgin Atlantic, meanwhile, said it would temporarily avoid Iraqi airspace, resulting in some pre-planned rerouting of its flights and cancelled its VS400 service from London Heathrow to Dubai on Saturday.
Wizz Air halted flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman with immediate effect until March 7.
The Foreign Office has also updated travel advice for UK nationals in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait to warn people to ‘immediately shelter in place’.
The advice on the FCDO website said: “Remain indoors in a secure location, avoid all travel and follow instructions from the local authorities.”
It is understood the UK was not involved in the US and Israeli strikes on Iran and Sir Keir Starmer will chair a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee on Saturday morning.