Government to fly first 280 stranded Irish citizens out of Middle East war zone
The Government is to fly the first 280 stranded Irish citizens out of the hell of the Middle East war zone.Defence Minister Helen McEntee revealed that the first of several mercy missions should leave in the coming days from Oman. Over 2,000 trapped citizens have sought emergency assistance to get home from a government help line.A priority list of those most vulnerable is being drawn up for the first flight and people will be contacted today. Many stranded tourists and air passengers have been caught up in the war after thousands of flights through the UAE were cancelled due to missile and drone strikes across the region.The defence minister said she is hoping to work with airlines to get more people home on their own planes as it becomes safer to do so.The advice to Irish citizens living in the impacted countries is to remain sheltered in place. An estimated 22,000 Irish citizens are in the wider war zone. The Government is liaising with EU allies for one of the biggest modern airlifts of its kind.Minister McEntee has revealed that the first flight is now on standby and passengers are trying to make their own safe travel arrangements to reach the gulf state of Oman which has remained outside the immediate danger zone.Minister McEntee said: “I am highly aware of the large numbers of Irish citizens in the UAE as the current conflict continues. In this context, I asked our Consular Crisis team today to activate plans for an assisted departure.“Our team will now take the necessary steps to finalise a first government of Ireland charter flight for Irish citizens to depart the region from Oman Airport in the coming days, providing security and operational considerations permit.“This first charter flight will be targeted at Irish citizens currently in UAE, particularly those who are non-resident, and who are vulnerable and require assistance most urgently.“Those citizens requiring most assistance will be contacted directly by my Department in the coming days. I would ask for everyone’s patience as our most vulnerable citizens are contacted in this first phase of our response to this crisis.“We will continue to offer consular assistance to all citizens in the region. All citizens should register with the appropriate Embassy if they have not already done so and continue to follow our Embassy social media accounts for the latest updates.”Want to see more of the stories you love from the Irish Mirror? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Irish Mirror as a preferred source, simply click here.
