The 16 November date that could still shape F1's trip to Qatar and Abu Dhabi

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) still has advisories in place for Iran, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, and Gulf News reported on Wednesday that they are listed as valid until 16 November - unless they are revised sooner.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix runs on 21th November and the paddock then flies to Qatar for the race on 29th November and on to Abu Dhabi for the finale on 6th December. Whether EASA renews, softens or tightens the bulletin will be the next official signal of how freely airlines can keep flying into Doha and Abu Dhabi, which could have an impact on logistics.

The current Gulf bulletin tells operators to stay out of the airspace over the waters of the Persian Gulf in the Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and UAE flight information regions, except where they need it to arrive at or depart from local airports.

The EASA renewed the warning on 30th September and while it does not ban flights, each airline carries out its own risk assessment, so carriers have reacted differently.

Gulf News reports that UAE airspace remains open, while Wizz Air pushed its return to Abu Dhabi back to January 2027.

British Airways also does not expect to restore its Abu Dhabi service until the 2027-28 winter season, Aerospace Global News reported in October.

The guidance has been much stricter before. In the spring, Gulf News reported that EASA told airlines not to operate at any altitude across a wide region that included Qatar and the UAE.

The current version leaves a working corridor in place for flights into the two race venues.

The aviation guidance matters because the paddock has been told it is part of F1's own test. Speaking to The Independent, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff described the criteria Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem have set out: "Stefano and Mohammed have been pretty clear about the situation that Formula 1 follows what the international guidelines are, whether there are travel restrictions, airlines not flying, any warnings in the region, the kind of feedback that local governments are making."

F1 has also left itself room to change course. An F1 spokesperson told The Independent: "If the situation develops negatively in the coming weeks before the events in the Middle East we will not hesitate to do the right thing and the safety of everyone will always be the priority."

GPblog has already covered how teams are handling individual staff decisions with Mercedes allowing staff to skip the races if they are concerned.

If the bulletin is simply rolled over, little changes for F1. EASA has extended it several times this year, and it now describes the Gulf as advisory airspace that requires a documented risk assessment, not prohibited airspace.

Recent events in the wider region explain why the date is being watched. After attacks on Saudi airports, Emirates, Etihad, flydubai and several European airlines extended their suspensions of Saudi flights, some into January 2027.

Getting there is not a small task. In a previous season, British Airways ran charter flights that took 500 F1 personnel from Las Vegas to Doha but restrictions could have a knock-on effect on those travelling to the region.