Cillian Murphy makes his way to LA ahead of Oscars this weekend

Oscar nominee Cillian Murphy has jetted off to Los Angeles ahead of Sunday's awards ceremony.

The Oppenheimer actor flew on a direct Aer Lingus flight from Dublin Airport, along with some of the crew and production team behind the Oscar-nominated film Poor Things.

Murphy is nominated for best actor for his performance as theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's biopic. The Cork-born star is among the favourites to take the prize, having already picked up the best actor gong during the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Bafta awards.

Also on the flight was Irish cinematographer Robbie Ryan, who is nominated for his work on Element Pictures-produced Poor Things.

Susanne Carberry, Aer Lingus chief customer officer, said the airline was honoured to support Irish talent on their "cinematic journey" to the Oscars.

"At Aer Lingus, we make every journey count, and this week, our Oscar nominees are embarking on one of their most important journeys as they travel to LA to represent Ireland at the most iconic movie awards in the world," she said.

"Our Aer Lingus crews will go above and beyond to make it a memorable experience, and we wish Cillian and Robbie, as well as the rest of the Irish contingent the very best of luck. We hope to have extra seats to carry the golden statues on the flight home to Dublin from LA!"