In times of global strife, one destination makes total sense

A friend of mine flew recently from Doha to Helsinki, and “the scenic route” doesn’t even begin to describe the sort of journey he had.

You can see the flight path on the tracker websites: rather than a straight shot up to Finland, his plane takes a hard left out of Doha, flies west across Saudi Arabia and Egypt, before eventually turning north over Greece, skirting Slovakia and then bending almost north-east towards Helsinki.

The reason for this circuitous journey is obvious: you can’t fly a commercial plane over Iran right now. You also couldn’t fly through the space that separates Iran and Israel, given there were missiles and drones zooming between the two.

Flights have been diverted around the Gulf as Iran fires missiles at a US base in Qatar on Tuesday morning.Credit: Flight Radar 24

You also can’t fly over Ukraine either, because Ukraine is also under invasion, this time from Russia. Once again, missiles and drones flying through the air. Hence the scenic detour of AY1982 over Slovakia.

Another person I know flew a few days ago from Doha to Almaty in Kazakhstan, and his flight path was also worth pondering. Again, you have to avoid Iran on this flight, so the plane takes a sweeping turn east from Doha before eventually flying north over Pakistan, turning north-west to skirt past Tajikistan, and then finally flying north-east to Almaty.

And this was all before the US began strikes on Iran, the likes of British Airways started turning UAE-bound flights back to Europe and flights to Doha were briefly cancelled altogether.

Some flights just don’t go the way you might expect them to right now.Credit: Getty Images

The fact is, some flights just don’t go the way you might expect them to right now. The world, in fact, just doesn’t go the way you might expect it to right now.

There’s war in the Middle East, war in Europe, and tensions are escalating in numerous regions including the US.

Our thoughts, first and foremost, go to those directly affected by these wars, the scores of innocent people caught in the crossfire. And you may say that any other conversation right now is “first world problems”, which is true. But this is the travel section, where all problems are first world problems.

So here goes: let’s talk about the problems with travel. Are you flying to Europe soon? Are you going in via the Middle East? Are you visiting somewhere like Jordan or Egypt? Are you planning a trip to a country close to Ukraine or Russia?

Or perhaps the US is more your thing, in which case have you considered stories of Australians being detained at the US border and then ultimately sent home, a permanent stain left on their record? Or the deployment of active US troops on the streets of Los Angeles, or the sweeping raids by ICE that seem to take in anyone who looks or sounds a bit different?

Snowfall along the Lake St Clair National Park hiking trail in Tasmania.Credit: Tourism Tasmania

There’s a lot of evidence for the idea that travel right now, at least to two of our favourite continents (Europe and North America), is just not a great idea. And we haven’t even talked about exchange rates, which are still brutal for Australian travellers heading to those continents. Or the very real prospect that fuel prices – aviation fuel included – are about to skyrocket.

It’s doom and gloom out there if you choose to consider all the factors.

And it should also, really, point you to one of the few destinations that still makes complete sense in this time of war and unrest: Australia. You remember, that place we all visited during the COVID-19 pandemic, and then left as soon as we had the chance? Yeah, Australia.

Fresh as it gets … oyster and wine tasting at Freycinet Marine Farm, Tasmania.Credit: Alastair Bett

We’re all set for an Australia summer. An Australia spring, too. It seems like now is the time to pull your travel focus back to your homeland, to sit tight in a safe, predictable place that could really use your custom while the rest of the globe simmers.

I would be looking to Australia for travel this year (as long as you don’t already have something else booked). I would be looking to Tasmania, which has a huge amount to offer, from untouched wilderness to cracking food and wine to varied, high-quality accommodation to just the friendliest people around.

Pristine shores of Radical Bay on Magnetic Island.

I would be looking to Queensland too, particularly during winter, where the weather is still as warm as the welcome, natural attractions like the reef and the rainforest are all still there, and the likes of Brisbane have truly come of age.

Though, you could go for any state you wanted, or even just stay in your own. Go camping somewhere beautiful. Stay in a fancy hotel close by. Spend some of the money you’re saving on trans-hemispheric flights and take yourself out for a three-hatted meal.

There was a time not so long ago when we all travelled in Australia because we had no other choice. Now, unless you really want to fly the scenic route around countries intent on each other’s destruction, Australia once more seems the smart way to go.