Preparations are underway to bring Irish citizens home after the US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran forced widespread flight cancellations across the Middle East. The military escalation, now in its fifth day, has closed nearly all airspace in the region, leaving thousands stranded.
Up to 280 Irish citizens are expected to return on a Government-chartered flight from Oman in the coming days. Priority will be given to vulnerable individuals and those needing urgent assistance, with efforts ongoing to identify passengers for the initial flight.
The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that an Emirates flight is scheduled to depart from Dubai to Dublin at 6pm local time. The flight will carry approximately 400 passengers, including those whose flights were cancelled over the weekend. Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee described the flight as a “positive development” and said the department is “in close touch with the airline” to coordinate further evacuations.
Around 25,000 Irish citizens in the Middle East have registered with the department, with 2,000 requesting assistance to return home. Minister McEntee said additional flights are being arranged and urged remaining citizens to shelter in place and take any available flight back to Ireland.
Separately, Emirates also scheduled an outbound flight from Dublin to Dubai at 1.10pm, carrying 80 passengers living in the UAE, and another Dubai-Dublin flight is planned for tomorrow at 2.35pm.
Thousands of British nationals are also starting to return home as airlines increase operations in the region. Emirates is operating seven flights from Dubai to the UK, while Etihad will operate two flights from Abu Dhabi. Virgin Atlantic is running a flight from Dubai to London Heathrow, and British Airways will operate an evacuation flight from Oman’s capital, Muscat, to Heathrow—a city it does not normally serve.
A UK government charter flight is set to repatriate citizens from Muscat at 7pm GMT. Reports indicate, however, that no large-scale evacuation is planned for the more than 130,000 British nationals who have registered with the Foreign Office.
The closure of Middle Eastern airspace has created the largest disruption to travel in the region since the Covid-19 pandemic. Flights remain completely or partially grounded over Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Syria, the UAE, and Israel, causing widespread logistical challenges for governments attempting to evacuate their citizens safely.
