With a promotion to temporary lieutenant colonel on 8 October 1917, Burnett was granted command of the Flying Corps' Fifth Wing which was operating in Palestine. Following his wing's contribution to the British victory in the Battle of Jerusalem in December 1917, Burnett was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He was also awarded the Egyptian Order of the Nile, Third Class, and in the 1919 King's Birthday Honours he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in recognition of his wartime service in Egypt.