There were emotional scenes in Dublin Airport on Tuesday night as more than 350 stranded Irish people arrived home from the UK.
After flights were grounded on Sunday night, many were left hoping for an opportunity to get home and for those that managed to nab seats, it was a Christmas miracle.
Two special consular flights – one operated by Aer Lingus and one operated by Ryanair – were organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs to bring Irish residents home from Britain. A smaller number were also accommodated on ferry routes.
There were plenty of smiling faces flooding the halls – and some who were glad to be home in time for Santa Claus’ visit.
Limerick youngster Alex Shorten, seven, flew home with his mother Saphron and grandmother Caroline after a few days in Essex visiting his uncle.
Saphron told the Irish Mirror: “We went over to visit family before Christmas, best intentions and all that.
“We got an absolute shock when everything was cancelled, it was an absolute nightmare.
“I suppose, financially, it’s a little bit of a disaster so close to Christmas.
“And we’ve a seven-year-old, so we didn’t know if Santa would be able to find us.”
Other arrivals included Zama Menyo, who was returning from London with her two daughters.
She said: “I travelled for an urgent family matter. I was keeping an eye on what was happening but it wasn’t a complicated process to get home.
“I am worried about the new strain but we did everything to protect ourselves, we didn’t go out or anything.
“We wouldn’t want to bring anything back.”
But it wasn’t all smiles as Mick Morrissey, from Kilmeaden in Co Waterford, said he had to travel to the UK for a funeral.
He said: “I was there for a sad occasion, I was over for my sister’s funeral, she died on Sunday evening.
“She was buried on Monday. It’s great to be home.”
And for Sherron St Clair, who lives in Greystones, her visit was also a tragic one.
The dance teacher told the Irish Daily Mirror: “I buried my son on the 21st of December, he was 28 years old. We’re just coming back, it’s so good
to be home. My son Ysra lived in London.” Aer Lingus flight EI4179 also arrived from Heathrow at 10pm with plenty of relieved passengers.
The Department said last night that a very limited service will continue during the period of the current travel restrictions in order to assist
Irish-bound passengers who were transiting through British airports when the restrictions were imposed, or Irish residents who can prove that they were only temporarily in Britain, and need to get back to Ireland.
A spokesman said: “This service is not available for citizens normally resident, studying or working in Britain. It will be available for essential travel only and must be arranged through the Department of Foreign Affairs.”
Ryanair flight FR520 arrived from Stansted over an hour late but it didn’t matter to passengers who were just relieved to be home.
Meanwhile, all Aer Lingus flights from the UK to the Republic of Ireland are banned until December 31. The carrier is operating flights from the Republic to the UK in order to facilitate the repatriation of customers to there and those with connecting flights there.
Aer Lingus continues to liaise with the Department of Transport, other Government Departments and the relevant authorities as required.
Stormont Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill has called for a ban on non-essential journeys across the island of Ireland. The Sinn Fein deputy leader said the measure should be accompanied by a ban on travel between the island and Britain.She expressed regret that ministers had not supported her party’s proposal for a ban on travel from Britain at Monday night’s Executive meeting. Ms O’Neill said her call for an all-island approach was “not a political point” but instead “about saving lives”.
Leo Varadkar has said there will be a garda presence on the border to clampdown on people breaching Covid restrictions.
Arrivals from the UK have been encouraged to self-isolate for two weeks – even if they arrived on repatriation flights after a short stay.
