The Irish government is working to bring citizens stranded in the Middle East home following widespread flight cancellations due to the ongoing US-Israeli bombing campaign of Iran. Up to 280 Irish citizens will be repatriated on a government-chartered flight from Oman in the coming days, with priority given to those most vulnerable.
Irish Citizens Stranded in Middle East
Approximately 25,000 Irish citizens in the region have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs, with 2,000 indicating a desire to leave. An Emirates flight from Dubai to Dublin is scheduled to depart this evening, carrying passengers whose flights were cancelled over the weekend.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee described the Emirates flight as a “positive development,” stating the department is “in close touch with the airline” and that they will directly contact affected passengers. She also indicated that more flights will follow.
Irish citizens remaining in the region are advised to seek shelter and utilize any available flights for departure.
Thousands of British nationals are also returning home, with airlines increasing flights from the Middle East. Emirates is operating seven flights from Dubai to the UK, while Etihad has two departures from Abu Dhabi. Virgin Atlantic will operate a flight from Dubai to London Heathrow, and British Airways will run an evacuation flight from Muscat, Oman – a route it does not usually serve.
A UK government charter flight will repatriate British nationals from Muscat at 7pm GMT, though officials have stated there will be no large-scale evacuation of the 130,000 British nationals registered in the Middle East.
Irish citizens in the Gulf region can find useful contacts at: citizensregistration.dfa.ie, or by calling the DFAT Crisis Team at 01-4082000. Travel advice is available here.
Additional reporting by Mícheál Lehane and PA
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