It can now be revealed that United Airlines has managed to evacuate all of its pilots and flight attendants out of the Middle East, nearly four days after the United States and Israel launched a massive military campaign in Iran, sending the region into turmoil.
The news came hours after the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), which represents crew members at United Airlines, said the US attack on Iran had put its members “in harm’s way.”
The statement added: “We urge the State Department, related agencies, and our military to work with airlines to ensure all U.S. based crews are able to return home safely and without delay.”
“In aviation, we know all too well the high cost of breeding hatred against our country and destruction of people and places around the world. Our safety and security depends on peace.”
Late on Tuesday, however, the Allied Pilots Association (APA) confirmed that all United Airlines aircrew had been evacuated out of the region.
United Airlines had been operating up to five daily flights to Tel Aviv, Israel, from Chicago O’Hare, Newark, and Washington Dulles, as well as a single daily flight between Newark and Dubai as part of a codeshare agreement with Emirates.
Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport is not now expected to open until Thursday after planned flight resumptions were delayed several times. However, it is believed the crew were smuggled across the border into Jordan, where they were able to get on a flight from the capital, Amman.
Meanwhile, very limited operations have already resumed from Dubai International Airport with the majority of flights being operated by Emirates. These services are currently reserved only for people who had existing reservations and who had been stranded following the closure of airspace on Saturday.
In this case, it’s understood that the United Airlines crew were driven across the Saudi Arabian desert, where they were able to be repatriated via commercial flights from Riyadh.
On Monday, the State Department issued an urgent warning to American citizens across the Middle East to leave immediately, using commercial means wherever possible.
The department was quickly slammed for issuing the warning so late, given that most commercial flights in the region have been grounded since Saturday.
Secretary Marco Rubio has now suggested that charter flights could be organized to evacuate some American citizens in the Persian Gulf, although details remain sketchy and no flights have yet been confirmed.
Rubio urged American citizens in the region to register their presence in the region with the State Department by enrolling in the Smart Traveler program. US citizens can also call a special State Department task force 24 hours a day at +1-202-501-4444.
United Airlines has extended flight cancellations to Tel Aviv and Dubai until March 11 at the earliest, while Delta Air Lines has paused flights between New York JFK and Tel until March 22.
Other developments
- Qatar Airways has cancelled all flights until March 6 at the earliest, amidst continuing Iranian missile and kamikaze drone attacks on Doha.
- Normal flight operations at Emirates will not resume until March 8 at the earliest, while Etihad Airways is aiming for a March 6 restart.
- However, the United Arab Emirates has established so-called ‘safe air corridors’ for a limited number of flights to and from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah.
- Aviation authorities want to build up flight operations to 80 flights per day with capacity for around 27,000 passengers.
- These flights are mainly reserved for passengers who held existing reservations and had been stranded as a result of the airspace closures.
- European airlines are arranging emergency repatriation flights from Muscat, Oman, as regulators have banned them from flying into Dubai despite the ‘safe air corridors.’
