The first commercial flight to leave the Middle East for Australia since the outbreak of America and Israel’s war with Iran has landed safely in Sydney.
Emirates flight EK414 from Dubai touched down around 10:30pm AEDT carrying about 200 Australians, who had spent the past few days grappling with uncertainty, frustration and fear as they sought a way to return home.
After clearing customs, there were emotional scenes as they cleared the arrival gates and were embraced warmly by loved ones who turned out to greet them.
Emirates flight EK414 taxis across the tarmac after landing in Sydney. (ABC News)
Among the first batch of Australians to return was a group of 19 students and four teachers from Barker College, on Sydney’s north shore.
They were on their way to Türkiye for a robotics competition, but had a stopover in Dubai when the conflict broke out.
Cheers broke out in the arrivals lounge as the children came through the gates, wearing smiles of relief on their weary faces as they hugged family members.
Barker College head Phillip Heath was there to greet 19 of his students at the arrivals lounge. (ABC News: Berge Breiland)
Barker College head Phillip Heath was there to greet his students, and said he was extremely grateful to Australian officials who had helped arrange their passage back home.
He said he hadn’t yet been able to debrief with the students, but they’d told him they had heard the conflict taking place overhead and had spent one night in the basement of a hotel.
“Our next step is to get them back so they’ve got somebody to talk to,” he said.
Students from Barker College were travelling to Türkiye for a robotics competition when war broke out. (ABC News: Berge Breiland)
Also arriving in Sydney was Sam Brown, her husband and their four-year-old daughter, who had recently moved to Dubai and said they had been left “just totally shocked by the situation”.
“It was just absolutely surreal … I never thought I’d be in a situation where I heard explosions over my living room, front door rattling,” Ms Brown said.
“We just couldn’t believe we got on that flight. We’re so grateful. We felt nervous, but in very safe hands.
“We’re absolutely delighted to be back.”
Sam Brown was separated from her teenage children when war broke out in the Middle East. (ABC News: Berge Breiland)
The couple’s 14-year-old daughter, Lila, who had stayed in Australia with her brother Oscar, was beaming as she hugged her mother and sister.
“[I’m] happy and overjoyed,” she said.
“I was a bit nervous this week at school with everything going on, but it’s very nice to see everyone.”
Roisin Smith smiles as she speaks to reporters in the arrivals lounge. (ABC News)
Roisin Smith was all smiles as she arrived at the gates and was greeted with flowers.
She had been on her way to Ireland for her father’s 94th birthday, but ended up stuck in Dubai as missiles travelled overhead.
Nevertheless, she was full of praise for the UAE , and for the crew of her return flight, who she said earned a round of applause from passengers when the flight landed.
“Albo should invest in one of those [missile] shield things, because they’re really good,” she told reporters.
The flight was one of 60 to have left the UAE on Wednesday morning (Australian time) for different locations around the world, flying in dedicated emergency air corridors.
It is a tiny amount compared to the more than 20,000 flights in and out of the region that have been cancelled since the conflict broke out, complicating travel plans not just for people flying locally, but also those stopping over en route to other destinations.
How airlines determine if it is safe to fly
Those stranded in the Middle East include thousands of Australians, some of whom have resorted to unconventional measures, such as hiring limousines, to cross international borders in a bid to get home sooner.
Four Qatar Airways flights bound for Doha on Sunday were turned back to Australia after Qatar’s government closed its airspace, while Dubai’s international airport was also closed for several days after it was struck by an Iranian missile.
The chaos has prompted the federal government to send six “crisis teams” to the region to assist diplomats on the ground, who are working to evacuate Australians caught off guard by the conflict.
A second commercial flight from the Middle East, Etihad Airways flight 454, is scheduled to leave Abu Dhabi on Thursday night and land in Sydney on Friday evening.
Imam Keryam is greeted by family members after arriving safely in Sydney. (ABC News)
A flight from Melbourne — Etihad Airways flight 461 — is scheduled to depart on Thursday and land in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
The federal government’s Smartraveller website is currently warning Australians to prioritise their safety if they’re thinking of travelling to or through the Middle East, as the situation is prone to changing quickly.
It urges travellers to monitor events and follow the advice of local authorities, as well as to make sure their travel insurance covers cancellations.
