On Sunday, the US Department of State warned US citizens around the world, including tourists and Americans living abroad, citing conflicts in the Middle East.
“The Israeli-Iran conflict has led to disruption and regular closures of airspace travel across the Middle East,” Alert said, also citing the possibility of a “demonstration of US citizens and interests overseas.”
Security alerts issued Sunday did not mention the US strike at Iran’s nuclear facility over the weekend. The impact of these strikes is already felt on a wider scale as UAE, Qatar and Bahrain reportedly closed airspace following the retaliatory missile strikes from Iran at a US military base in Qatar.
While attention from around the world is relatively rare, Sunday alerts are the third and third within two years issued by the State Department. In May 2024, the department warned of potential threats to LGBTQ+ travelers and issued a global warning to Americans in October 2023 amid the Israeli Hama War.
“U.S. recommendations don’t automatically trigger departure or evacuation orders, but they can be a good indicator that could come,” said Ross Thompson, founder of Covac Global, a membership-based company specializing in repatriation and medical evacuation.
As Thompson explained, travel recommendations and security alerts issued Sunday are based on many intelligence sources, with the most weight being staff at the local US embassy, more specifically the Diplomatic Security Agency and other government authorities and agencies.
“The constant contact of these entities and their relationship with local law enforcement and domestic counterparts creates a picture of the overall security environment for US citizens, or what people in the sector call AMCIT,” Thompson noted American citizens.
Security experts provide advice to travelers
The Department of State security alerts point to a larger picture of uncertainty in and around the Middle East, along with immediate changes to flight routes following the recent strike, indicating that some travelers are questioning how they can proceed with their future travel plans.
According to several security experts who spoke in the distance, the global caution warning on Sunday does not necessarily mean that travelers need to cancel their overseas trips. Instead, they should carefully assess the potential risks of their destinations, take certain precautions, and make their trip as safe as possible.
Gene Petrino, co-owner of Survival Response LLC, a Florida-based security consulting firm, recommends staying up to date with U.S. traveller warnings and recommendations and signing up for the State Department’s Smart Traveler Registration Program. Petrino, a retired commander of the SWAT Law Enforcement Unit, says that it is paramount that travelers maintain a sharp “situational awareness” while at their destination. He also encourages travelers to “eliminate your phone” to “remove your phone from your hand” (or your phone has been stolen), and to identify two or three escape routes from their current location, such as exits from the hotel, wherever possible.
“It takes time to see places everyone wants to visit and all the sites they want to see, but please look at them too What should I avoid? And how do we alleviate the safety issues that may appear along the way?” Petrino said.
Meanwhile, Thompson suggests travelers read detailed prints with travel insurance, especially when heading to destinations where evacuation services may be required. “If travelers are concerned about the ability to evacuate or remove a particular country for medical or security reasons, they need to understand that certain medical evacuation insurance or memberships will not cover destinations with travel advisories higher than Level 2,” he said. The State Department travel advisories range from Level 1, or “normal precautions” to Level 4. Level 4 indicates that you are not “moving” to your destination.
That said, for Thompson, who has lived and worked in several Level 4 countries around the world, there are two main reasons why travelers should cancel their trips. “First, if the risk level suddenly jumps from 1 to 3, they know you don’t,” he explains. “Secondly, you’re reading paper or watching the news and hearing the little voice in your head saying, “Don’t go” or “Go somewhere.” It can save your life. ”
