American Travelers Struggle to Return Home Amidst Middle East Conflict: Limited Evacuation Options Available

In the wake of an unexpected military offensive by the United States and Israel against Iran, numerous Americans find themselves stranded in the Middle East. Many are turning to social media to fervently appeal to the US government for assistance in evacuating the area.

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Soups Ranjan, a tech entrepreneur, experienced this firsthand. He embarked on a business trip to Dubai on February 25 and was en route back to the US on a United Emirates flight when the unexpected happened. Just four hours into the journey, the aircraft had to reverse course due to missile activity.

“At that moment, we were actually flying over Iran’s airspace,” Ranjan recounted to The Post. “Thankfully, the pilot managed to maintain a sense of calm on board.”

Ranjan’s experience is not isolated. He joins a wave of Americans inundating congressional offices and the State Department with urgent requests for evacuation from the region.

US Representative Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) took notice of Ranjan’s LinkedIn post and promptly addressed a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday, inquiring about the government’s plans to assist those affected.

The State Department said Wednesday that 17,500 American citizens have returned to the US from the Middle East – with over 8,500 returning yesterday alone. The department also said it assisted 6,500 Americans abroad, including offering security guidance.

On Tuesday Secretary Rubio said 1,500 Americans are requesting assistance. The government is “implementing plans to help Americans in the Middle East to be able to depart,” he said during a press briefing.

The government has “identified” charter, military and commercial flights and is “working with airlines to send bigger airplanes with more seats.”

A couple of planes that were on their way to the region and had to turn around after their air space was closed, Rubio said. He booked a dozen flights afterwards to all over the world that were all canceled, he posted on LinkedIn.

“After four days of adrenalin and constant fear, I feel demoralized and abandoned by our government,” wrote Ranjan, who is co-founder and CEO of a Berkeley, Calif.-based fraud payments company called Sardine.

“It’s difficult watching other countries – UK, Israel, Spain, Italy and India – repatriate their citizens or ensure that commercial flights continue operating to bring them home.”

Ranjan tried calling a number that the US State Department offered to Americans in his predicament as recently as Tuesday. The recorded message warned callers “Please don’t rely on the US Government for assisted departure evacuation at this point. There are currently no evacuation flights at this time.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio “just stated that there are 1,500 Americans who have contacted asking for assistance to evacuate. How did they do that because I am completely at a loss on who to call,” he wrote.

Ranjan, who previously led the risk and data science teams at Coinbase, arrived in Oman today via two private cars and two busses. He booked a flight for Thursday morning and several backups in case it’s canceled, he said.

“I’m on all sorts of airlines,” he said. “It’s a game of luck.”

Several of Subramanyam’s constituents have reached out to the congressman, who represents Northern Virginia where many are employed by the government or with government contractors, according to the representative’s spokesperson, Elizabeth Carlson.

“I know that other congressional offices have heard from their [constituents] and we believe there are thousands of people who are trying to get out,” Carlson told The Post.

The congressman’s letter to Secretary Rubio states, “There have been attacks and instances of violence at embassies and consulates, including in Riyadh, Kuwait, Dubai and Pakistan,” adding that a directive from the State Department on Monday urging “ Americans to DEPART NOW from the countries below using available commercial transportation, due to serious safety risk.” 

Those countries, the letter states, are Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Secretary Rubio urged Americans in the region to register with the government and provided this number, 1-202-501-4444. “We need to know where you are,” as these travel opportunities become available, the Secretary said during a press briefing Tuesday.