Ireland Issues €14m Tender to Increase Deportation Charter Flights
Ireland’s Department of Justice issued a five-year tender valued at approximately €14 million on November 5, 2026, for deportation charter flights, with spending nearly three times the 2024 contract value and signalling an expected rise in removals over the next five years.
The new procurement process, led by Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, sets aside funds that are nearly three times the value of a 2024 contract, which was worth €5 million over three years, according to The Irish Times. Tender documents released on November 5 note that the State expects growing demand for return operations in the coming year and subsequent years. The figures exclude VAT and cover the provision of charter planes alongside travel management, airport slot coordination, air traffic control, refuelling, and An Garda Síochána support services.
The Department of Justice stated that the current contract with Air Partner Ltd is nearing its conclusion because it is close to its total financial limit. That agreement was signed in November 2024. State officials indicated that charter flights offer an alternative to commercial aviation and can be more appropriate when removing groups of individuals to identical destinations.
Deportation Flights Remove Hundreds of People
Deportation charter flights recommenced in 2025. Data from The Irish Times shows that seven charter flights completed during 2026 have removed 245 people from the State. This total includes 91 EU citizens removed on grounds of criminality. By comparison, operations last year involved six charter flights that removed 205 people, which included five non-EU destination flights accounting for 182 individuals and one flight removing 23 EU citizens for criminal offences.
Flight expenditures vary significantly by geographic destination. The highest expense recorded in 2025 involved a June operation to South Africa carrying 42 people at an estimated cost of €735,000. Another South African flight in February removed 63 people for €585,075. A separate removal operation to Pakistan in September 2025 cost €473,000 and involved 24 individuals.
Tender documents emphasize that the State has experienced large volumes of individuals seeking international protection or entry through other channels. They note that not all such individuals will be given permission to remain and that, in some cases, those without permission do not leave voluntarily. The State has substantially increased the processing capacities of the Immigration Services, and the new tender is intended to strengthen capacity to conduct more charter flights than the 2024 contract.