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Flight from Dubai set to land in Dublin tonight

Updated / Thursday, 5 Mar 2026 19:35
Emirates airline planes are parked on the tarmac at Dubai International Airport
Emirates planes parked on the tarmac at Dubai International Airport earlier this week

Some Irish people who were stranded in the Middle East by the widespread cancellation of flights there are on the way home.

There are around 400 people on board a flight from Dubai to Dublin this evening.

The five-day-old US-Israeli bombing campaign of Iran has led to the closure of nearly all the airspace in the region.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee cited it as a "positive development", adding that the department is "in close touch with the airline".

The Department of Foreign Affairs said that an Emirates flight was due depart Dubai for Dublin at 6pm this evening. It will carry passengers who had their flights cancelled at the weekend.

A second flight is due to arrive tomorrow.

Ms McEntee said more than 400 people are due to arrive on tonight's flight and on tomorrow's flight, but that she "expected" some non-Irish passengers on board.

"In the same way we know that Irish citizens have gotten on flights directly towards London and other parts of Europe, and then they're transiting home," she said.

"But obviously, if there's a direct flight to Dublin, I would expect a huge proportion of those on the flight would be Irish citizens."

Irish citizens are also due to be brought home on a Government chartered flight from Oman in the coming days.

So far around 25,000 Irish citizens in the region have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs - 2,000 of them have said they want to leave.

The Irish Embassy in the UAE thanked all those had registered, but warned that registration is not an expression of interest in a flight.

Minister McEntee said more flights will follow and that she expects the Government to charter more flights "if necessary".

She said the Government had signed a contract for a chartered flight from Muscat in Oman, to fly people home "at the end of the week".

It was previously confirmed that vulnerable passengers would be prioritised for the charter flight.

Asked about reports of citizens being asked to contribute €800 towards the cost of the chartered flight, she said that was a "substantially reduced charge compared to what the cost of the overall flight is".

Ms McEntee also said that children would fly for free on the charter flight, which she expected would bring over 300 people home.

She also said the Government would foot the bill for transporting people by bus to Muscat from the UAE.

Separately, an Emirates flight departed Dublin for Dubai at 1.10pm, carrying 80 passengers who all reside in Dubai.

Emirates has also scheduled a flight from Dubai to Dublin for tomorrow at 2.35pm.

Meanwhile, thousands of British nationals stranded in the Middle East are returning home today as airlines increase their flights from the region.

Emirates is operating seven flights from Dubai to the UK, while Etihad has two Abu Dhabi departures to the UK.

Virgin Atlantic will operate a flight from Dubai to London Heathrow.

British Airways has not restarted its usual flights schedule from the region but will run an evacuation flight to Heathrow from Oman's capital Muscat, which it does not usually serve.

A UK government charter flight will repatriate British nationals from Muscat at 7pm GMT, but it has been reported there will be no major evacuation of the 130,000 British nationals who have registered their presence in the Middle East.

Watch: Minister confirms Govt to charter flight from Oman for 280 Irish citizens

Ms McEntee reiterated advice to remaining Irish citizens to remain sheltered and if they have access to a flight to take it.

"For most people in the UAE, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the quickest way home for them is to get a commercial flight," she said.

"The airlines themselves are directly going through their own passenger list, and they're trying to get as many of those who are caught in transit, those who are on holidays, on those flights and home."

She said, "no country is getting access" to the commercial flight lists: "Any of the commercial flights, these are flight lists that the airlines have, they're their customers that they have been dealing directly with."

It has been agreed that citizens from Northern Ireland can access assistance from both the Irish and British governments.

We remain in contact with both governments and stand ready to do all we can to support our citizens.

Supporting all our citizens abroad and their families at home remains my top priority.

Here's a reminder of some useful contacts for Irish citizens in the Gulf region.

Citizens Registration: citizensregistration.dfa.ie

DFAT Crisis Team phone number: +353(0)14082000

People from Northern Ireland who do not hold an Irish passport but wish to register their presence with the Irish government should contact the number above.

People from Northern Ireland who do not hold a British passport but wish to register their presence with the British government should can contact the 24/7 Consular Call Centre on +44 (0)20 7008 5000.

Travel advice is available here

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Additional reporting by Mícheál Lehane, Juliette Gash and PA

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