After almost a week of Middle-East air-space chaos, the Irish Government’s first repatriation charter from Oman landed at Dublin Airport on the evening of 5 March 2026, carrying 280 citizens and residents who had been stranded in the Gulf following missile strikes on Dubai International Airport. Commercial flights resumed the same night on a patchwork schedule, but airlines warned that routings will remain volatile as conflict between Israel, the US and Iran widens. The Department of Foreign Affairs estimates 24,400 Irish citizens live across the Gulf states, many on rotational contracts in aviation, construction and finance. Employers with staff in the region were forced into emergency-mobility mode: tech multinational InterCom chartered a 180-seat Etihad wide-body to Shannon, while CRH rerouted engineers via Athens using block seats on Aegean. Travel-risk firm WorldAware says the scramble exposed gaps in crisis-evacuation clauses; fewer than half the mobility policies it reviewed guaranteed business-class seats or family accompaniment in a forced departure. Irish tour operators are bracing for a wave of refund requests. The Association of Irish Travel Agents (AITA) advised consumers that standard packages do not cover ‘war-risk’ cancellations once the Department upgrades its travel advisory to “Do Not Travel”. Meanwhile, insurers are re-pricing corporate travel policies for the Middle East and North Africa, quoting premiums 30 % higher week-on-week. Looking ahead, Etihad and Emirates plan a skeleton daily service to Dublin routed south over the Arabian Sea, adding two hours to journey time. The Irish Aviation Authority confirmed that airlines using Irish airspace must now file flexible rerouting flight plans daily, increasing ATC workload. Corporate mobility managers should: 1) cross-check emergency-repatriation benefits for staff and dependants; 2) map alternative hubs such as Doha or Muscat; and 3) brief assignees on possible consular-led evacuation protocols, including assembly points and documentation requirements.
Source: The Irish Times live coverage
