Both Türkiye and Cyprus are common vacation locations because of their gloriously heat Mediterranean climates, however their proximity to the continued battle between the US, Israel and Iran means it’s turn into a worrying time to journey to the area.
Türkiye stays largely unaffected thus far, but it surely shares its japanese border with Iran, and after an assault on an RAF base in Cyprus on Sunday evening, we’ve compiled a information to all the things you want to learn about how the battle is affecting journey to the 2 locations, and if you happen to’ll be capable to rearrange your journey.
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Is it secure to journey to Türkiye and Cyprus proper now?
At the time of writing, the UK has not issued any new steering in opposition to travelling to Türkiye, which excludes the longstanding recommendation to keep away from all journey inside 10km of the Syrian border. However, the BBC has reported that NATO shut down a missile headed in the direction of Turkish airspace on Wednesday morning. The nation additionally shares its japanese border with Iran.
The state of affairs may worsen throughout the area, and so you will need to train warning.
As for Cyprus, RAF Akrotiri was hit by a missile on Sunday night, which meant the airport was evacuated and all British faculties on the island had been closed, based on The Sun.
Have flights been cancelled?
According to FlightRadar, flights to main Turkish airports (Istanbul, Antalya and Ankara) are largely working as regular, however they might nicely be topic to delays.
‘Some of our flights to and from the following destinations have been cancelled: Bahrain, Dammam and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria and United Arab Emirates. The current situation in the region’s airspace is being monitored in actual time, and extra flight cancellations might happen,’ mentioned Turkish Airlines.
The evacuation of Cyprus’s airport has meant that a number of airways have cancelled flights over the previous couple of days, together with easyJet, British Airways, and TUI from British airports in Bournemouth, the East Midlands, Cardiff and Wales, in addition to London Gatwick and Heathrow.
‘We appreciate this may be disappointing news for those due to travel, and we are truly sorry for the disruption to our customers’ vacation plans.’ a TUI spokesperson mentioned, ‘Our customer service teams are fully mobilised, and every affected customer will be contacted directly to discuss the options available to them. EasyJet has cancelled its London Gatwick flight to Larnaca today, as well as flights from Bristol, Manchester and Edinburgh to Paphos today.’
Flights operated by Ryanair and Jet2 are nonetheless working to Cyprus, at time of writing.
What is the UK Foreign Office saying?
On the FCDO’s journey recommendation web page for Cyprus, there’s an replace which reads: ‘On 2 March 2026, the Sovereign Base Areas Administration confirmed a suspected drone impact at RAF Akrotiri. British nationals in the Sovereign Base Areas should follow instructions from the Sovereign Base Areas Administration British Bases Cyprus Facebook British nationals in the Republic of Cyprus should follow any instructions from Cypriot local authorities.’
Both the Cyprus and Türkiye websites have been up to date with recommendation entitled ‘regional escalation’, which reads: ‘Regional escalation poses vital safety dangers and has led to journey disruption.
British nationals ought to: learn ‘If you’re affected by a crisis abroad – GOV.UK’. This consists of steering on “how to prepare for a crisis” with ideas on what you would possibly embody in your emergency provides and “what to do in a crisis”; observe recommendation from the native authorities; signal as much as FCDO Travel Advice e mail alerts; monitor native and worldwide media for the most recent data; keep away from areas round safety or navy services; maintain your departure plans beneath assessment, and guarantee your journey paperwork are updated; if you’re suggested to take shelter, keep indoors or discover the closest secure constructing or designated shelter. An inside stairwell or a room with as few exterior partitions or home windows as potential might present further safety.’
What must you do when you’ve got a visit booked?
As no journey recommendation explicitly warning in opposition to heading to Cyprus nor Türkiye has been printed by the FCDO, it’s unlikely you’ll be capable to get a full refund in your journey if you happen to determine to not go forward with it. Similar guidelines apply to bundle vacation bookings.
If, nonetheless, your flight has been cancelled by your airline, you might be entitled to a full refund. Those with bundle holidays booked to locations which are actually not secure to journey to (which have or haven’t been mechanically cancelled) will probably be entitled to a full refund or to assert compensation. As at all times, it’s greatest to talk immediately along with your journey supplier to see what could be performed.
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