Irish Government charter from Middle East to touch down in Dublin later

The Irish Government’s first chartered flight from the Middle East is due to touch down in Dublin later.

It was chartered to bring stranded, vulnerable Irish citizens home amid escalating scenes in hostilities between Iran and Israel and the United States.

Three Emirates flights have taken hundreds of Irish citizens from Dubai to Dublin this week. Another is due to land at 9.45pm on Saturday.

Other Irish people have managed to get indirect flights to Ireland from Abu Dhabi or Dubai through London or Paris.

The Government’s chartered flight, which reportedly costs 800 euro a seat, departed Oman on Saturday.

The flight which is to transport 300 people who are vulnerable, such as children and people with medical needs, is to make one stop in Cairo.

It is due to arrive at Dublin Airport late on Saturday night.

There are about 24,000 Irish citizens across the region who have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs.

An estimated 14,000 Irish people are living in Dubai, a further 2,000 in Abu Dhabi and more than 2,000 in both Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

On Friday, it was indicated that the consular crisis team had responded to more than 2,300 queries since last weekend.

On Saturday an Irish Government spokesperson said: “The Government’s charter flight to assist citizens in the Gulf region has departed Oman.

“It will make one stop in Cairo and is due to arrive in Dublin later tonight.”