A DONEGAL woman and her daughter’s long-awaited trip to Australia was abruptly cut short when their flight was turned around mid-journey due to escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Bernadette McConnell, from Castlefin, and her daughter Bailey O’Loughlin were en route to visit her son Jordan in Sydney, where he has lived for a decade.
Bailey, who hadn’t seen her brother in over ten years, was especially excited for the month-long holiday.
However, the pair had been traveling for five hours when their plane was diverted, just an hour away from their layover at Dubai International Airport.
Unaware of the unfolding situation in the Middle East, they were watching a movie when an announcement on the intercom informed them they would be turning back.
“It was announced on the intercom that we had to turn, so we quickly turned on the news and realised what was going on,” Bernadette told the Donegal News.
Iran had launched strikes across the Middle East in response to a massive and ongoing attack against it by the US and Israel which began on Saturday.
The plane was then diverted back to Dublin Airport.
“Like everybody that came off that plane in Dublin airport, we all had a story to tell. Some had family members waiting at the other side, and my daughter hadn’t seen her sibling in ten years.”
One of the passengers, she said, had a daughter with young children in Dubai, who had been sheltering from the bombardment of missiles.
Bernadette expressed a deep sense of relief that they were diverted back home.
“Since we’ve seen what is unfolding, we are so grateful that we were turned around. I am so grateful that we are back here on home turf.”
Reflecting on the quick turn of events, Bernadette said that just the night before, they had been preparing for the month-long trip, bidding farewell to family and friends, only to find themselves back home within days.
“If we had been on an earlier flight, we could have been stuck in Dubai,” she said.
“It just wasn’t meant to be. God was good to all of us who were on that flight, and that’s the way to look at it.”
After spending Saturday night in a hotel, Bernadette and Bailey returned home to Strabane yesterday afternoon.
A carer in the community, Bernadette had saved hard for the trip. She now hopes to plan a holiday to Australia for Christmas instead.
Meanwhile, the UAE Irish embassy has advised Irish citizens to shelter in place, avoid unnecessary movement and follow the advice of local authorities given the deterioration of the security situation.
The UAE is home to one of Ireland’s largest diasporas per capita, with thousands of Irish nationals, many from Donegal, residing in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
