‘It’s fantastic to be home’: Relief as first Irish flight from Dubai since Middle East crisis lands

Passengers describe alarms in the middle of the night and seeing missile trails in United Arab Emirates There was a huge sense of relief at Dublin Airport as the first flight from Dubai touched down since the recent crisis in the Middle East began.Many of those on the flight had been in the UAE city since last Saturday amid the conflict between Iran and the US and Israel which caused widespread airspace closures in the Middle East, sparking major disruption to travel. There are to be further direct flights from the Middle East landing in Dublin on Thursday, and a Government-chartered plane later this week.Some were too overcome to speak as they arrived late on Thursday night, while others described alarms in the middle of the night and seeing missile trails in Dubai where the Fairmont The Palm Hotel and the airport were hit.READ MOREWelcome to the new Global Briefing newsletter Why have the US and Israel attacked Iran? Why has Dubai been hit? Could the conflict spread?Merz abandons Germany’s moral certainties as he aligns with Trump on IranManchester byelection defeat leaves Keir Starmer green around the gillsAnna Callaghan from Donegal was overcome to be surprised by her mother Patricia having travelled from the north west to Dublin to see her.“My mum’s come all the way from Donegal, that’s why I’m a little overwhelmed, I live in Dublin so I wasn’t expecting to see her,” she said.Callaghan described a stressful and frightening situation.“We were seeing and hearing bangs and explosions, last night in particular it was jet after jet after jet going overhead, and then we heard the US consulate was hit and that really scared everyone,” she said.“This is my fourth flight that I rebooked and I didn’t think I was going to get out.”Norita Geary (left) is welcomed by her sister Elaine Gleeson, from Limerick, as she arrives at Dublin Airport on a flight from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire Elaine Gleeson from Limerick also surprised a family member, turning up with a balloon and flowers to welcome home her sister Norita Geary.“Everyone clapped when the plane landed, and cheered, it was just magic,” Geary said.“I didn’t expect to see her (Elaine) because I told her I was getting a lift home,” she added, hugging her sister. “Dublin is the most beautiful city in the world.”Gina Quinn from Dublin described hearing a national alarm in the middle of the night which woke them all up.“It was very frightening, you just didn’t know and getting information on when you might be able to fly home was nigh impossible, the airlines were great but they were inundated,” she said.“I think everyone on the flight coming in tonight is absolutely delighted, just hope that everybody else gets home quickly because it’s a very uncertain situation.“It’s fantastic to be home.”Rob McClean from Greystones, who had been transiting through from India, said it was a massive relief to be in Dublin. “I was in the airport on Saturday night when the explosion happened so we were evacuated from there which was pretty tough,” he said. “It’s been nerve wracking for my family.”Jimmy O'Connor, from Longford, is welcomed home as he arrives at Dublin Airport on a flight from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire Jimmy O’Connor from Longford said he had been on his way home from Australia visiting his daughter in Sydney when he got caught up in the situation in Dubai.“We didn’t think it would be such a long journey home, but we’re back now safe and sound,” he said.There were also a number of passengers from across Europe who took the flight to Dublin in desperation to flee the Middle East.Alex Anderson, a French-American who lives in Germany, described “huge relief” and said it was very emotional to land in Dublin.“It was really difficult, I was a transfer passenger, I was supposed to be going on to Frankfurt on February 28th, when I was coming in from Malaysia we actually saw the missile trails, but we didn’t know what it was then, just thought it was planes,” he said.“It was really shocking when we landed and found out what had happened.“I moved as quickly as I could out of the terminal building, and an hour later it got hit. Then there was the long wait of days, hearing thumps, anti missile stuff, that was nerve wracking, they definitely had a lot of drones coming over.“I wouldn’t say it’s a full blown warzone like you would see in Gaza, but it’s getting close.“It’s a huge relief to land in Ireland, and a bit emotional. Tomorrow morning I’ll fly back home to my wife and kids in Frankfurt.”Dave and Gina Salt from Stoke on Trent in the UK described their experience in Dubai as “scary sometimes hearing explosions”.“Other than that we felt quite safe, but relieved to get back, this was our fourth attempt to get out (of Dubai),” Dave Salt added.Andy Barnes from Hertfordshire and Andy Teasdale from Cumbria said they had spent their time in Dubai since their flight home was cancelled on Saturday in hotel basements.“We were at the airport from 3.30am, there were no flights available but we went on the