The government says it is "working around the clock" to create options for Australians stranded by the outbreak of the war in the Middle East, as the first flight from the region to Australia in several days prepares to depart.
Airlines were disrupted globally by Iranian regime bombings in nine countries in retaliation for weekend strikes by the US and Israel. Airspace remains closed over Iran, Iraq and Israel.
The foreign minister confirmed the first flight from Dubai to Sydney is set to depart on Wednesday morning, but is "dependent on circumstances".
Speaking to her UAE counterpart overnight, Wong said she had asked for commercial flights to restart but highlighted that the ongoing attacks were making contingency plans "difficult".
Foreign Minister Penny Wong revealed there are 115,000 Australians in the region, with at least 24,000 located in Dubai. This includes expats or people transiting through.
"This is a consular crisis that dwarfs any Australia ... has had to deal with in terms of numbers of people," she told ABC's RN.
Following strikes in the region on Sunday, Smartraveller updated its advice, urging Australians not to travel to Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar or the United Arab Emirates.
It continues to advise Australians not to travel to Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Syria or Yemen.
A limited number of airlines have resumed operations for stuck travellers, with Wong stressing commercial flights were the best avenue to leave the region.
"That volume of traffic will really need to see commercial flights resume, even if only sporadically, to get people home," she said.
"Obviously given that the hubs are being attacked, this has made this crisis much more difficult for everyone to navigate, and we're very conscious of how distressing this is," she said.
Wong expressed her gratitude to Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed for the "friendship of the UAE people" during the time of crisis.
The same sentiments were echoed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during his call with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan overnight.
The pair discussed the volatile situation in the Middle East and the importance of resuming commercial flights as soon as possible.
Wong dodges legality questions about strikes
The government has continued to avoid questions about the legality of US-Israeli strikes on Iran, dubbed Operation Epic Fury.
"The legal basis of these strikes is ultimately a matter for the United States and Iran, sorry, and Israel, is ultimately a matter for the United States and Israel," she said.
She highlighted Iran's failure to comply with UN security council resolutions over it's nuclear program.
It comes as US President Donald Trump revealed that after knocking out Iran's military installations, the US had targeted another set of Iranian leaders.
"There was another hit today on the new leadership, and it looks like that was pretty substantial," he said, without revealing who was targeted or had been killed.
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