TEL AVIV- Since last Friday, nearly 1,000 United States citizens and their family members have left Tel Aviv (TLV), Israel, on charter flights and other transportation arranged by the State Department to reach Europe, as informed by a department spokesperson to Reuters.
The State Department revealed that they had made available over 4,000 seats on government-chartered air and sea transport for U.S. citizens and their immediate families. However, the flights and other departure options have typically departed with a passenger load of less than half capacity.
United States Tel Aviv Chartered Flights
The State Department has also indicated that the government-facilitated flights to Athens from Tel Aviv are scheduled to continue at least until Thursday.
In response to the demand from American citizens in Israel looking to return home, U.S. airlines have expanded their flight offerings to Athens and increased the capacity of their aircraft.
Furthermore, the State Department has recently provided an option for American citizens to depart from Haifa by ship to Cyprus.
According to the State Department, more than 3,000 U.S. citizens have successfully left Israel and the West Bank using various means.
A charter flight was organized in a joint effort between the state of Florida and a non-profit organization, resulting in over 270 Americans returning from Israel. Governor Ron DeSantis mentioned that additional flights are being planned for this week.
Charter Flights by 3 Big Airlines
The State Department has emphasized that it will maintain a real-time assessment of the demand from U.S. citizens for support in departing Israel.
United Airlines (UA), American Airlines (AA), and Delta Air Lines (DL) temporarily suspended their direct flights to Israel.
Over 30 U.S. lawmakers penned a letter to the CEOs of these three airlines, urging them to reinstate flights to Tel Aviv swiftly.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma conveyed to the airlines last week that the U.S. government had received approximately 17,000 inquiries concerning travel assistance for leaving Israel.
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