F1 charter flight to Australian GP amid Middle East conflict

Amid widespread travel disruption due to conflict in the Middle East, Formula 1 officials have booked a charter flight to fly key team personnel to Melbourne for this weekend’s 2026 Australian Grand Prix, according to The Athletic.

Typically around 1,500 paddock staff, including team staff, race organisers, officials, media and hotel staff, attend these races, scheduled for March 8 at Melbourne’s Albert Park track.

Many of them were scheduled to pass through airports in the Middle East, which serve as major global transportation hubs, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Doha in Qatar. Retaliatory missile strikes continue to rock the region after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Saturday, resulting in the temporary closure of airspace around those countries and the cancellation of many flights in the region.

“We’re talking about the teams, the drivers and the people of Formula 1,” Australian GP CEO Travis Auld told Australian network Channel Nine. “I think there are about 1,000 people who have already booked a flight and will land somewhere between today, tomorrow and Wednesday.

“So they’ve all had to change, but they’re obviously competing against increased demand because there’s a lot of people around the world doing the same thing. But the important part is that they’ve been able to sort it out.”

All equipment needed to run the race had already been sent to Melbourne ahead of the attack.

“All the cargo is here and ready to go, so we are in a space where we are really confident there will be no impact (to the race due to travel disruption due to the conflict),” Auld added. “The drivers will be here, the engineers will be here, the team leaders will be here. Those are the priorities.”

Sunday’s race kicks off the F1 season, which heads through China and Japan before heading to the Middle East for races in Bahrain (April 12) and Saudi Arabia (April 19).

–Field level media