Pork Sausages on Deportation Flight to Pakistan Prompt Catering Change
Catering on Irish deportation flights changed after pork sausages were served on a September 23rd, 2025, flight to Pakistan. A human rights report highlighted inappropriate food and recurring issues with deportees' belongings. The monitor also noted an incident where a man was restrained during a November 3rd flight to Georgia.
Catering on Irish deportation flights was altered after pork sausages were served in an Irish breakfast on a forced return flight to Pakistan on September 23rd, 2025. This was reported in a human rights monitoring report obtained by The Irish Times via a Freedom of Information appeal.
The flight, carrying 24 adult men to a majority Muslim country, included a human rights monitor, gardaí, a doctor, and an interpreter. The monitor noted that while operations were generally humane, the food quality was low, and pork sausages were inappropriate, despite an understanding that halal food would be available. Two men were assessed as «high risk» prior to the flight. One man expressed concern about being filmed by a garda during boarding, which was confirmed to be happening.
Upon arrival in Islamabad, two men returned to the plane agitated, one missing his mobile phone and the other his luggage. The reports indicate that the non-return of deportees’ belongings is a recurring issue. Another flight on November 3rd returned 52 people to Georgia, including 35 men, seven women, and three families with children aged five months to 17 years. During this operation, an adult male was restrained on the ground, handcuffed, and carried onto the plane after a struggle over access to his phone.