If you’ve been stuck in the Middle East, some relief is finally on the way. Many Americans felt abandoned after the surprise attack on Iran, which closed airspace over much of the region.
Videos show that the phone number the U.S. government urged Americans stuck overseas to call for help is just a recording saying: “Please do not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation.”
One of my friends, Alyssa Ramos, who was stuck in Kuwait, confirmed that the U.S. government was of little help during the first several days. On Instagram, she wrote:
“Also, for those who have said to check in/register with the embassy here and the STEP program, just FYI—they both have been zero help. We get no notifications, and even when we’ve reached out to the embassy, they just tell us to enroll in STEP. Clearly, government funding goes more to causing wars than protecting its people!”
The good news is that the State Department is trying to help now. They shared a photo of Americans in the Middle East boarding the New England Patriots team plane. That’s pretty snazzy—I thought team owner Robert Kraft was donating it, but according to Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson, the plane was chartered by the State Department and landed safely in Washington, D.C., Friday morning.
“This flight was entirely paid for by the State Department,” Johnson said. He also clarified, “The New England Patriots organization was not involved in this flight.”
One person (@heathermbd) commented on Instagram: “That plane was sold to a charter company. My daughter actually flew on it for college marching band a few years ago.” This appears to be true so not sure why they haven’t repainted the plane.
Flight Aware shows the plane’s route
(FlightAware.com)
According to FlightAware, the 767-300 plane departed Abu Dhabi on March 5 and flew four hours to Sofia, Bulgaria. Four hours later, it flew three hours to Shannon, Ireland—presumably to make another fuel stop. After almost three hours on the ground there, it flew just over seven hours to Washington, D.C.’s Dulles Airport. Three hours later, it flew to Fort Worth (AFW), which is Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, featuring a wide array of flight services, including air cargo, corporate, and government aviation.