Bahrain and Kuwait Travel Advice: What Employers Should Check Before Staff Travel

FCDO updated its travel advice on 23 July 2026 and now advises against all but essential travel to Bahrain and Kuwait. For employers with staff, directors or contractors travelling to the Gulf, the issue is not just whether flights are running.

The practical question is whether the trip is still approved, still essential and still insured. Regional tensions can change quickly, and the latest Kuwait advice also refers to reduced flight schedules and possible travel disruption.

This can catch SMEs out. A business may have a sales meeting, project visit, conference, supplier review or transit connection booked weeks in advance. If the advice changes close to departure, old approvals and assumptions may no longer be good enough.

Employers should check each trip before anyone travels. That means looking at the destination, transit route, purpose of travel, staff role, emergency contacts and insurance position.

 

A simple travel review should cover:

• Whether the trip is genuinely essential.
• The latest FCDO advice for the destination and any transit country.
• Whether the travel insurer accepts the journey in the current circumstances.
• Who can pause, approve or cancel travel.
• How the traveller will be contacted if airspace or flights change.
• Whether bookings can be changed without leaving staff stranded.
• What support is available if the traveller is already abroad.

 

Insurance Implications

Annual Business Travel insurance can be highly useful, but it is not a blank cheque for every overseas trip. Cover depends on the policy wording, destination, reason for travel, activities planned and FCDO advice at the time.

Many policies include conditions or exclusions linked to travelling against official advice. Some insurers may consider essential business travel, but that needs to be checked before the trip goes ahead. Do not assume cover remains valid just because the policy is annual.

Medical costs, evacuation, cancellation, curtailment, baggage, travel delay and replacement staff travel may all have different limits and conditions. These are worth checking before travel, especially where the trip involves a higher-risk region.

For employers, duty of care also matters. If staff are sent abroad during a fast-changing security situation, the business should be able to show how the decision was made, what advice was checked and how the traveller would be supported if plans changed.

The safest practical step is to make FCDO advice part of the travel approval process, not something checked after a problem appears.

 

Speak to Ratcliffes

If changing FCDO advice is affecting staff travel, call Ratcliffes on 01242 544544 to review whether your Annual Business Travel cover still matches how and where your people are travelling. We can help you identify the right questions to put to insurers before a trip goes ahead.

 

Sources

• FCDO: Bahrain travel advice, updated 23 July 2026.
• FCDO: Kuwait travel advice, updated 23 July 2026.
• Travel Weekly: Britons advised against all but essential travel to Bahrain and Kuwait, 23 July 2026.
• ABTA: Travelling to or through the Gulf, updated 23 July 2026.
• Ratcliffes Insurance Brokers: Products.