20,000 Irish people on holiday in Spain have been told to be on a plane by Thursday night to make sure they can get home.
The Department of Foreign Affairs made the call last night.
Aer Lingus will use its biggest planes to help make the airlift possible, using widebody planes that normally fly to North America.
Both it and Ryanair are waiving rebooking fees and seat charges.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney says people can still enjoy a few more days abroad -- but they need to be ready to come home early.
"Both Ryanair and Aer Lingus have made it very clear that this won't cost you anything, that you can change your booking for free.
"But if you're on holidays in Spain and you're not planning to come home in ten days or two weeks, you need to rethink that.
"You need to now rebook your flights and come home in the next few days.
"This doesn't mean you have to do it tomorrow, it doesn't mean you have to panic, but you do need to act."
