Is There Any Place Safe Left to Travel?

Is there any place safe left to travel?

That’s a legitimate question to ask after the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday banned all U.S. flights to Israel for 24 hours after a rocket landed within a mile of Ben-Guriou Airport in Tel Aviv.

The FAA action came in the wake of the Malaysia Airlines tragedy last week, when a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over an area of Ukraine that has seen fighting between Ukraine loyalists and pro-Russian separatists. Though that route over Ukraine is heavily trafficked, the FAA had warned domestic carriers last week in a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) to avoid flying over that airspace.

The United States Department of State has issued 37 travel warnings so far this year – though some are updates or replacements of previous warnings – and three of them were this week alone. To wit:

• July 22 – The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens in Russia to the ongoing tensions along the border with Ukraine and the potential for increased clashes between pro-Russian groups and Ukrainian forces.  This supersedes the Travel Alert dated June 12 to provide updated information on the security situation along Russia’s border with Ukraine and will expire on October 21, 2014.

• July 21 – The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens of the risks of traveling to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza due to ongoing hostilities.  The Department of State recommends that U.S. citizens consider the deferral of non-essential travel to Israel and the West Bank and reaffirms the longstanding strong warning to U.S. citizens against any travel to the Gaza Strip.  This Travel Warning replaces the Travel Warning issued on February 3, 2014.

• July 21 – The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens of the high security threat level in Yemen due to terrorist activities and civil unrest.  The Department urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Yemen and those U.S. citizens currently living in Yemen to depart. This supersedes the Travel Warning for Yemen issued on January 29, 2014.

Now, what does it all mean to you as a traveler? Well, a warning is just that – a warning. It is not a restriction. In fact, responsible travelers should investigate every warning issued because not all warnings are the same. By way of example, the United Kingdom issued a travel warning to its citizens traveling to the United States – but that was for hurricane season in Florida and the Gulf Coast region that began June 1.

Others, like the ones mentioned above, are more ominous.

Can you still travel to these places? Yes. Again, research is your friend. For instance, a blanket ‘travel warning to Mexico’ doesn’t mean don’t go to Mexico. A typical previous warning for travel to Mexico has included areas of the country beset by violence wrought from the drug wars. It certainly doesn’t preclude you from traveling to the Mayan Riviera, for instance.

The warning also could be dated. Again, using Mexico as an example, there was a State Dept. warning issued on Jan. 9 of this year, but none since.

You should also check whether other countries have issued travel warnings to the same place the State Dept. has. This will give you a good assessment of whether the warning is comprehensive, or whether the State Dept. is concerned specifically about U.S. citizens traveling abroad where Americans might not be so welcome.