Several US charter flights have brought back “hundreds” of Americans from the Middle East to the United States, “with additional flights scheduled to take place over the coming days, as security conditions allow,” Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson said Friday.
Johnson said the State Department’s task force had “directly assisted nearly 13,000 Americans abroad, offering security guidance and travel assistance.”
“The Department is facilitating charter flights from Israel, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” said a second State Department official, speaking on background to reporters Friday. They said they expected the number of flights to be in the double digits over the coming days but declined to provide a specific figure.
However, “30 to 40% of Americans are declining our charter operations at this time,” the official said, attributing it to an increasing availability of commercial flight options.
“As we’re getting people onto flights, the average is 30 to 40% of people say, ‘I have departed the region already. I want to take a different option. I’m actually not going to go today, etc,’” the official said. They said they have not heard of anyone declining a flight because they feel unsafe traveling to the airport.
The official noted that not all flights are coming back to the US. Rather, they are “going to a variety of locations where folks can arrange onward travel or directly to the United States.”
One of the charter planes that brought back Americans was the New England Patriots’ team plane, according to a post on X from Johnson. Both the Patriots and the State Department said the team was not involved in the use of the aircraft.
“One of the companies the State Department contracted for charter flights also manages the New England Patriots’ team plane. This flight was entirely paid for by the State Department,” a State Department spokesperson said.
The State Department continues to urge Americans in need of assistance in Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Israel to complete the Crisis Intake Form. Their call line is still running 24/7 +1-202-501-4444, the official said.