Speaker 1: That's what's happening with airlines around the world. We know
Speaker 1: that listener Gary was stranded in Doha. We know that
Speaker 1: listener m is still stranded in I say go yeah, goa.
Speaker 1: She's still stranded in Doha. Dean Long's the CEO of
Speaker 1: the Australian Travel Industry Association. Then what's happening and how
Speaker 1: long do we think it will last?
Speaker 2: Well, the good news is we've just got a first
Speaker 2: flight landing into Kata today from Athens about five minutes ago,
Speaker 2: so it does appear the airspace is open. But for
Speaker 2: travelers today that are jumping onto flight to Doha, look,
Speaker 2: there will be disruptions. There will be some cancelations, no doubt.
Speaker 2: We do have flights mid air that we understand are
Speaker 2: being diverted to India and other countries at the moment
Speaker 2: with Australians on that. So look, we are going to
Speaker 2: enter a period now for the next forty eight to
Speaker 2: seventy two hours where disruptions will be a common occurrence.
Speaker 2: So people need to take a breath. Importantly, probably the
Speaker 2: number one thing for your listeners is you will be
Speaker 2: contacted by your agent or your airline if there is
Speaker 2: a cancelation to rebook you or do a refund. The
Speaker 2: worst thing your listeners can do today is call up
Speaker 2: their agent or call up their airline and say, look,
Speaker 2: I want to cancel because I'm worried about that. You
Speaker 2: canceling the flight today. The airline cancels, you're guaranteed a
Speaker 2: full cash refund. And that's the number one point people
Speaker 2: need to take home.
Speaker 1: To that great stuff. Dan, I've been keeping an eye
Speaker 1: on Emirates flights. The five point fifteen am today e
Speaker 1: K four h nine left on time. It's left on
Speaker 1: time for the last few days. Is Dubai less problematical?
Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, Dubai this morning had a suspension of air
Speaker 2: services as the missiles worth flying that they are open today.
Speaker 2: There has been some disruptions in terms of delays that
Speaker 2: we are finding services out of Australia. One of the
Speaker 2: great things about being a long haul destination is that
Speaker 2: there's a long way you can make up some of
Speaker 2: those delays. So we have seen Emirates flights that they
Speaker 2: leave on time, and the same can be said for
Speaker 2: Quantas as well. Kata flights and the Virgin flight are
Speaker 2: the ones that are being potentially disrupted today.
Speaker 3: So Dean, what are the protocols? So what of the
Speaker 3: global protocols? So let's say Tehran decides to fling some missiles,
Speaker 3: do they actually inform the commercial the commercial airline industry
Speaker 3: they're about to do it, or does the commercial airline
Speaker 3: industry have to wait for some sort of signal that
Speaker 3: comes from somewhere else.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure of when it's missiles, but there are
Speaker 2: definitely clear proceeds in place for civil aviation about when
Speaker 2: skies are contested and making sure that they can do
Speaker 2: it safely. Nobody wants to have civilian passenger line is
Speaker 2: impacted by a war. So there is a very strong
Speaker 2: communication link between the airlines operation centers and they've all
Speaker 2: got them their world leading they're completely integrated, so there
Speaker 2: are issues. You've got large teams on the ground feeding
Speaker 2: up to date information to the pilots to adjust courses.
Speaker 2: And really importantly, it's integrated internationally, so every flight that's
Speaker 2: in the sky knows exactly where you are and what
Speaker 2: you're doing and what your flight heating is, and that
Speaker 2: means when you're in the air, it's very very very
Speaker 2: very safe. So people can take a lot of that.
Speaker 3: Okay, then So while it's natural to worry, what your
Speaker 3: suggesting is you don't need to look.
Speaker 2: Not at the moment. And look, there's no doubt there
Speaker 2: is a higher level of anxiety at the moment. But look,
Speaker 2: the number one thing is don't cancel your flight just
Speaker 2: because you're anxious. Speak to your travel agent, your travel
Speaker 2: professional about what your options are, and importantly, don't contact
Speaker 2: them today. If you're worried about things. In two or
Speaker 2: three weeks, you will be contacted by your agent or
Speaker 2: airline if your flight is canceled and provided an option.
Speaker 1: Good on your Dane, well, said Dan Long. So you
Speaker 1: have the Historian Travel Industry Association