{"id":518441,"date":"2026-03-04T16:20:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T16:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/518441\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T16:20:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T16:20:20","slug":"first-australian-repatriation-flight-arrives-at-sydney-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/518441\/","title":{"rendered":"First Australian repatriation flight arrives at Sydney Airport"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The first group of Australians stranded in the Middle East after war erupted in the region have been successfully repatriated to Sydney, marking the start of a complex return operation for the 115,000 travellers and ex-pats still without an escape route from the intensifying conflict.<\/p>\n

The Australians arrived to a large media pack at the Sydney Airport arrivals hall on Wednesday night, more than 12 hours after over 200 passengers departed Dubai on Emirates flight EK414 \u2013 the first commercial flight from the Middle East to Australia since the conflict began.<\/p>\n

\"ImanIman Keryam embraces her son Youssef after arriving in Sydney, after five days stranded in the Middle East. Max Mason-Hubers<\/p>\n

It brought an end to days of panic and confusion after the Trump administration launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran on Saturday, prompting retaliatory attacks by the Islamic Republic that has seen 10 other nations across the region bombarded by military and drone strikes.<\/p>\n

Iman Kreyam was swarmed by her family as she emerged from the arrivals gate after 11pm, with son Zafer calling her return the \u201chappiest day in our lives\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is just incredible having her back,\u201d he said. \u201cWe just wanted to have her back, and she made it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Iman\u2019sIman\u2019s family swarmed her as she appeared from the arrivals gate. Max Mason-HubersRelated Article\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Kreyam was travelling to Lebanon to visit her father, who was recently diagnosed with cancer, when the war broke out, stranding her in Dubai Airport without access to essential medication for eight hours before she was directed to a hotel.<\/p>\n

Iman\u2019s other son, Youssef, ran through the arrivals gate to hug his mother as she emerged. He said: \u201cIf I lost my mum, I didn\u2019t know what I\u2019d do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alessandra Fuscaldo, an ex-pat who lived in the UAE for the past 18 months, held back tears as she recalled the \u201ctraumatic\u201d moment when her house shook after military strikes, as the war crept towards her doorstep.<\/p>\n

Fuscaldo, who will marry in the Hunter Valley next week, said she felt \u201cas safe as she can be\u201d while the region descended into conflict. She was met at the arrivals gate by her extended family, who have travelled to Sydney ahead of her nuptials.<\/p>\n

Passengers on the flight applauded the captain and crew after landing. The staff were given another round of applause from the family and friends of the passengers as they exited the terminal.<\/p>\n

\"AlessandraAlessandra Fuscaldo is embraced by her family as she arrives in Sydney ahead of her wedding. Max Mason-Hubers<\/p>\n

Etihad Airways has scheduled flights to Sydney and Melbourne from Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night (Gulf time), expected to land in Australia on Thursday evening, as Emirates continues to expand services for those stranded in the UAE.<\/p>\n

It follows talks staged by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in which Albanese raised the prompt resumption of commercial flights as the best means of removing Australians from the region.<\/p>\n

Foreign Minister Penny Wong deployed six crisis teams to the Middle East on Wednesday to assist with repatriation efforts, while the Australian Defence Force has established a taskforce that will explore options for mass evacuations.<\/p>\n

\"PrimePrime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong spoke with high-ranking UAE officials on Tuesday, as they push for the repatriation of stranded Australians.Alex Ellinghausen<\/p>\n

Roisin Smith praised the response of the airlines and UAE government after she was caught in the Middle East on the weekend, but admitted she faced an \u201canxious\u201d wait as flights back to Australia were routinely cancelled.<\/p>\n

Among the returning Australians was the robotics team from Barker College, on Sydney\u2019s north shore. The group had been scheduled to compete in a global tournament in Istanbul before being stuck in Dubai.<\/p>\n

Former Sunrise host David \u2018Kochie\u2019 Koch was on hand to welcome the travelling party, which included his daughter, who was watching over the students while overseas, and his young granddaughter. Koch said he was \u201cvery relieved\u201d that his family was home.<\/p>\n

\"DavidDavid Koch with his granddaughter at Sydney Airport.Max Mason-Hubers\"RyanRyan Trevithick (second from right) is reunited with his family, after his Barker College robotics team were stranded while on their way to Turkey.Max Mason-Hubers<\/p>\n

Ryan Trevithick, a member of the team, said it was \u201creally nice\u201d to be back on home soil.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe definitely had ups and downs, [a] lot of tiredness and thoughts in the back of your head with a bit of unease all the time,\u201d Trevithick said. \u201cOur whole group really came together as a team through this experience and supported each other a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Emirates flight touched down hours after Israel launched fresh missile strikes at Tehran, shortly after striking Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon.<\/p>\n

The Middle East serves as a vital corridor linking Australasia and Europe, accounting for 11 per cent of global air travel. Some 11,000 Australians transit through the region at any time, and it is used as a hub for Emirates, Virgin Australia\u2019s partner Qatar Airways, and Etihad.<\/p>\n

\"ChaosChaos ensues at Dubai Airport over the weekend.Mohammed Chowdhury<\/p>\n

Flight Centre chief executive Graham Turner forecast further repatriation flights in the coming days, but noted it may take further time for flights to the Middle East and Europe to go ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first stage is obviously repatriating people out of the UAE, and that\u2019s going to take a few days assuming there\u2019s no major disruption,\u201d Turner said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not bad news that Emirates is flying, quite a few flights [scheduled] for Thursday so that\u2019s reasonably good news.\u201d<\/p>\n

Qatar Airways will be grounded as the nation\u2019s airspace remains closed and flights to Australia are cancelled through Friday. An update on flights from Qatar will be provided on Thursday afternoon (AEDT).<\/p>\n

Related Article\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Camille Thioulouse is among the 24,000 Australians still \u201cin limbo\u201d across the UAE, as successive flights to her home base in Saudi Arabia are cancelled.<\/p>\n

She and her family have taken shelter in an Abu Dhabi hotel since the war broke out, and are now exploring plans to flee the region after Iranian drones struck the US Embassy in Riyadh, fewer than 30 minutes from their home.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur compound is unharmed but most people are leaving or trying to get back to their home countries in Europe,\u201d Thioulouse said. \u201cWe are making a plan today to try and get back to Riyadh by car and cross the border, and then get to France, where my husband\u2019s family are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Webjet chief executive Katrina Barry has diverted customers through travel corridors across Asia, including Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, as they seek safe passage home.<\/p>\n

Travellers bound for Europe via the Middle East have been diverted onto fresh travel routes, including on flights to the United States to avoid the \u201chighly dynamic\u201d situation.<\/p>\n

The UK government will repatriate its most vulnerable citizens in a chartered flight expected to depart Oman on Wednesday night (Gulf time), in what\u2019s expected to be the first of several flights catering for more than 130,000 British nationals in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Etihad, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic prepare to resume limited flights to London on Wednesday, while France, Germany, Italy and Spain have announced or begun operating charter flights to return stranded citizens.<\/p>\n

The United States has urged Americans to use available commercial transport to exit the region.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"DanielDaniel Lo Surdo<\/a> is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He previously helmed the national news live blog for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-518441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}