The first flight from Dubai to Sydney since war broke out in the Middle East has safely landed on Australian soil.
An Emirates Airbus A380-861, capable of carrying more than 400 passengers, left Dubai at 2am on Wednesday and landed in Sydney at 10.24pm.
There were cheers, hugs, and tears as passengers disembarked and reunited with their loved ones at the arrivals gate.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong had earlier confirmed the flight, EK414, had left and indicated commercial flights were the quickest way for Australians to get home because of the sheer numbers.
About 115,000 Australians have been left stranded in the Middle East since war broke out between US-Israel forces and Iran on Saturday. Iran has since been bombarding peaceful Gulf cities with missile and drone attacks.
Earlier in the week, an evacuation route via Cyprus collapsed when a military and a civilian airport were both targetted. But the United Arab Emirates’ government expected 60 flights to leave on Wednesday, after it began resuming flight operations on Tuesday through dedicated emergency air corridors.
Several airspaces over the Middle East remain closed, including Israel, Syria, Qatar, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Bahrain. Jordan has partially closed its airspace.
RMIT University aviation expert Justin Brownjohn said airlines have their own assessments in place to ensure if it is safe to fly, even in warzones.
There were tears when the first plane load of Australians stranded in the Middle East when the Iran conflict broke out safely landed back in Sydney late on Wednesday night
About 115,000 Australians are stuck in the region with commercial flights likely the quickest way back
Flight EK414 from Dubai to Sydney landed safely in Australia on Wednesday night
‘Most major carriers, and I’m talking the likes of Qantas [and] Emirates, have departments within their operations control centres that have really good connections and feeds into national security providers,’ he told the ABC.
‘Qantas, for example, will be in constant contact with DFAT, and they make a collaborative effort in determining the risk profile of the flight.’
Mr Brownjohn added carriers would be working with embassies in the Middle East and making decisions based on the latest information.
He said that all of these inputs feed into a risk profile.
‘It’s not just one person in one team saying, ‘Okay, it’s okay to fly’, or the boss of an airline saying, ‘Okay, look, we’re losing money now, we need to fly’.
‘That absolutely does not happen.’
Smartraveller has advised Australians travelling to or through Gulf nations that they could be unable to leave if the conflict escalates.
A registration portal is open on its website for Australians to receive further evacuation orders.
Friends and family waited to greet their returning loved ones
Passengers arrive from a flight coming from Dubai at Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport on March 4, 2026
Penny Wong said commerical flights are the quickest way back because of the sheer numbers
Emirates crew depart the plane and walk through Sydney airport
A registration page is available on Smarttraveller for Aussies still in the Middle East
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has activated its 24/7 Crisis Centre to provide consular support to those in the region.
Six crisis teams are also being sent to the Middle East to provide consular support to Australians still trapped in the area.
Wong did not advise how they were travelling for safety reasons.
Several other repatriation flights have left the UAE since airstrikes hit Iran on Saturday.
Relieved Brits arrived back home on Monday.
The Etihad Airways plane landed at Heathrow Terminal 4 at 7.16pm – two days after the US and Israel struck Iran, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and prompting a furious Iranian response.
Isabel Robertson, 29, of Windsor, was greeted with a hug from her mother Alba as she landed on Monday.
She had been staying with friends in Dubai, which has come under repeated attack by the Iranian regime.
US President Donald Trump has said the military operation in Iran would take four weeks
While there was joy on Wednesday night the plane load of about 200 Australians is a drop in the ocean of those in the Middle East
It is unclear how or when tens of thousands more Australians will return home
The United Arab Emirates’ Government expected 60 flights to leave on Wednesday, including the one to Sydney
Foreign Minister Wong said she is preparing her department for one of the biggest consular operations it has seen
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke with the president of the UAE, Mohammed bin Zayad al Nahyan, on Tuesday night and thanked him for the hospitality shown to Australians stuck in transit
Australia was one of the first countries to back the strikes by US and Israeli forces over the weekend
Opposition foreign spokesman Ted O’Brien said Labor should be looking at every option to ensure stranded Australians were kept safe
Residential areas around Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah, areas hugely popular with western tourists, were attacked, setting the luxury hotel Fairmont The Palm ablaze and damaging the Burj Al Arab.
Isabel, who previously lived in the Emirate city, had been due to fly home on Saturday but her flight was cancelled.
Dancer Isabel told the Daily Mail: ‘I went to see my friends. I had such a great week. I had meant to have been leaving on Saturday. My friend was going to drive me to the airport.
‘I was like ‘Why has my flight been cancelled?’ Ten minutes later I could hear an explosion.’
Many Australians are still waiting for their own reunions but how they will be evacuated from the Middle East remains uncertain.
The Australian Defence Force has prepared personnel for the rescue of Australians from the Middle East via military repatriation flights, reports on Tuesday claimed.
However, Wong insisted Aussies should continue trying to book seats on commercial flights as passenger planes offered a quicker route out of the region.
