U.S. Assistance to Ensure the Safety of American Citizens Overseas

The U.S. Department of State is taking historic action to assist American citizens, who wish to depart the Middle East, return to the United States. In the past several days, over 9,000 American citizens have safely returned from the Middle East, including over 300 from Israel.

The Department is facilitating charter flights from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan for American citizens, and will continue to secure additional capacity as security conditions allow.

Commercial aviation options remain available in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, and Egypt, and the Department is actively helping American citizens book those tickets. For those in countries lacking commercial aviation availability, the Department is facilitating travel to third countries as conditions allow. That includes increasing ground transportation options for American citizens wishing to leave Israel.

The Department has answered calls from nearly 3,000 American citizens in the Middle East and continues to provide travel options for those wishing to leave. The Department will also waive any statutory requirement for American citizens to reimburse the government for travel expenses.