Thousands of Britons stranded in the Middle East when the US-Iran war erupted in early 2026 can finally book trips to Dubai again – but the Foreign Office warns the region remains “unpredictable”.
The government dropped its “do not travel” advice for the United Arab Emirates on Thursday after the US and Iran reached a memorandum of understanding to end the conflict. The peace deal, which reportedly includes a $300bn plan to rebuild Iran, prompted the change. But the Foreign Office travel page cautions that “attacks could resume at short notice”.
“Foreign Office lifts Dubai travel warning after US-Iran ceasefire, but warns situation remains unpredictable.”
The advice states that before the 8 April ceasefire, Iran had declared its intention to target locations in the Gulf associated with the US and Israel, including ports, hotels, energy facilities and airports. “The situation remains unpredictable,” the page reads.
Lifting the advisory means travellers will no longer risk invalidating their insurance – a crucial step for the 1.4 million Britons who visited Dubai last year. Mark Tanzer, chief executive of the travel agents’ group Abta, called it “the most important development for tourism to and through the Middle East in some time”.
“We know from our research that people have been delaying booking their summer holiday because they wanted to see what happened with the conflict,” Tanzer said. “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.”
Yet airlines remain cautious. Virgin Atlantic, which suspended flights until winter 2027 after the war began, said on Thursday that this “remains the case”. British Airways announced in June it would not resume flights to the UAE until October 2026. Emirates, the state-owned carrier, has continued operating throughout the conflict.
The $300bn reconstruction plan for Iran has raised fresh questions about who will foot the bill and whether sanctions can be lifted. Channel 4 News economics editor Helia Ebrahimi joined analysts examining the future of Iran’s economy, its nuclear programme and the shifting balance of power in the Middle East. The ceasefire – and the travel advice change – marks a new test for Donald Trump’s administration as it navigates the region’s recovery.