LAST UPDATE | 4 Mar

AN EMIRATES FLIGHT from Dubai to Dublin is en route and expected to touch down at Dublin Airport at around 10.30pm.

It’s understood to be the first commercial flight to Ireland since the war in Iran began on Saturday. 

Dublin airport posted a video of flight EK162 on the social media website X, describing it as “a very welcome sight”.

Next stop Dubai… 🛫

A very welcome sight at Dublin Airport this afternoon as Emirates flight EK162 departed just after 1.30pm bound for Dubai - the first departure from Ireland to the Middle East since Saturday. pic.twitter.com/hgR1POKbTD

— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) March 4, 2026

A second direct flight is also scheduled for tomorrow.

Thousands of Irish people are stranded in Dubai and across the Middle East due to the widespread cancellation of flights. 

The Irish Government said an estimated 22,000 to 23,000 Irish citizens are in the Middle East region, including around 12,000 in the UAE alone. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said more than 400 people are due to arrive on tonight’s flight and tomorrow’s and that she “expects” some non-Irish passengers are also 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,” said McEntee.

“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.”

Meanwhile, McEntee told reporters this afternoon that she is “in constant engagement with the airlines to see how many direct flights we can get to Dublin”.

For those looking to travel home to Ireland, McEntee said commercial flights are the quickest routes.

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

“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 added that “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.” 

The government said last night that it will charter a separate flight from the Middle East in the coming days to bring Irish people home, amid the deepening conflict in the region. 

The charter flight will have capacity to carry 280 people, and will be targeted at Irish people currently in the United Arab Emirates, particularly those who are non-resident and who are vulnerable and require assistance most urgently. 

McEntee said the charter flight will depart from Oman in the coming days, as long as airspace is open and that people will be driven to Oman by bus to get the flight.  

“It’s important that we can obviously say that this is the first of many, I hope,” she said. “We’ll be reaching out to citizens to try and make sure that that first charter flight is full.” 

Asked about the cost to passengers she said it is a “substantially reduced charge compared to what the cost of the overall flight is”.

She said children are flying free and that the bus bringing people to Muscat in Oman will also be free, adding: “Of course, if there are people in significant difficulty, we will support them.

“We will make sure that they can get on the flight if they need to get home.”

She said Irish authorities are contacting “everybody that will be on that flight” and they are “making sure that those who are most vulnerable, that they will be on that first flight”.

She also encouraged anyone “looking to get home” to register with her department but said: “It does not mean that you are registering to come home.

“It means that you are alerting us to the fact that you’re in the region.”

Around 2,000 people have contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs’ crisis management office since Saturday.