The Foreign Office has lifted its 'do not travel' warning for Dubai, opening the door for thousands of British holidaymakers to return to the popular destination after the US and Iran reached an agreement to end their war. But in the same breath, it warned that 'the situation remains unpredictable' and 'attacks could resume at short notice'.
The change comes after more than 1.4 million Britons visited Dubai last year, and follows weeks of chaos that left thousands stranded in the Middle East when the conflict erupted in early 2026. Many airlines had suspended flights to major travel hubs, and some have yet to resume.
“Foreign Office drops Dubai 'do not travel' warning after US-Iran peace deal, but warns attacks could resume.”
Virgin Atlantic, for example, suspended flights until winter 2027 after the war began, and a spokesperson said on Thursday that this 'remains the case'. British Airways said earlier in June it would not resume flights to the UAE until October 2026. Emirates, which is owned by the state, has still been operating flights to the region throughout the conflict.
Mark Tanzer, the chief executive of Abta, the travel agents' industry group, said he expected a 'positive impact' on travel. 'This is the most important development for tourism to and through the Middle East in some time,' he said. 'We know the government won't have taken this decision lightly. We know from our research that people have been delaying booking their summer holiday because they wanted to see what happened with the conflict in the Middle East, and that the government travel advice is an important factor in confidence to travel. While we're not out of the woods yet, hopefully this change will open up the market more broadly – there are some very competitively priced holidays for this summer, so if you're still to book, now is the time to do it.'
The Foreign Office advice stated: 'The US and Iran have announced a memorandum of understanding in relation to the conflict in the Middle East. The situation remains unpredictable and attacks could resume at short notice.' It added that before the 8 April ceasefire, Iran had stated its intention to target locations in the Gulf associated with the US and Israel, including businesses, facilities and institutions, and had previously targeted civilian infrastructure such as ports, hotels, roads, bridges and airports.
Lifting the advice means people travelling to the UAE will no longer risk invalidating their travel insurance. But with some carriers slow to restart, the path back to normal holiday bookings remains uncertain.