Ireland has carried out its first chartered deportation flight to Pakistan, removing 24 men from Dublin to Islamabad in an operation now under scrutiny over the in-flight menu.
The flight, which took place on September 23, 2025, formed part of a broader push by the Irish Government to step up immigration removals. According to a human-rights monitoring report obtained by The Irish Times under Freedom of Information legislation, two of the deportees had been assessed as high risk, one because of previous offending and the other because of behaviour in prison.
A doctor, an interpreter and 79 gardai accompanied the flight. Each man had been held overnight in one of three prisons before being escorted to Dublin Airport. The monitor, appointed by the Irish Department of Justice, concluded that the operation had been conducted humanely and with respect for “the rights and dignity of the returnees”.
The charter cost Irish taxpayers approximately €473,000 — nearly €20,000 per person — making it the State’s single most expensive charter deportation in 2025.
Though the monitor found the operation itself to be humane, the in-flight catering came under criticism. Gardaí told the monitor that “the quality of the food provided was of a lower standard than expected and that the serving of pork sausages as part of a full Irish breakfast was inappropriate”, given that Pakistan has a Muslim-majority population and that the consumption of pork is forbidden under Islamic dietary law. The monitor said it had understood that halal food would be available but that it had “not specified in the flight brief”.
Aviation company Air Partner, which operates Ireland’s deportation flights, has since changed the catering menu for future deportation flights.
The Pakistan charter forms part of a wider drive by the Irish Government to remove failed asylum seekers and convicted criminals. Ireland chartered deportation flights to Pakistan, Georgia, Nigeria and Romania last year at a total cost of approximately €1 million, with at least 205 illegal immigrants and convicted criminals removed.
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan has signalled openness to going further, indicating that the Government would consider transferring unsuccessful asylum applicants to processing centres located outside the European Union.
Similar external arrangements have been gaining traction across the bloc. Italy is investing up to €670million in Albanian processing facilities, and several other EU member states have begun examining offshore options amid sustained migratory pressure.
Ireland, long viewed as a country of emigration rather than immigration, has in recent years moved towards a markedly firmer line on enforcement.
