Ireland Deports 63 People to South Africa in Charter Flight Operation

The Government has confirmed that 63 people were deported from Ireland to South Africa over the weekend.

The Minister for Justice said 54 adults; 28 men and 26 women along with nine children departed Dublin Airport on Saturday on a chartered flight. The group arrived in Johannesburg shortly after 4am Irish time on Sunday. Gardaí confirmed that all nine children were travelling as part of family units.

It marks the second deportation operation of its kind this year and the eighth since charter removal flights resumed in 2025.

Those removed were accompanied by members of An Garda Síochána, as well as medical personnel, an interpreter and a human rights observer.

In a statement, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan described the flights as an essential and now routine component of Ireland’s immigration enforcement system.

Gardaí also said that 10 of those deported had prior criminal convictions in Ireland. Their removal was linked to ongoing policing efforts targeting offences including sexual and domestic violence crimes, drug-related activity and road safety violations.