State Department allows up to $40M to be used for evacuation flights for Americans in Mideast

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has authorized the use of up to $40 million in emergency funds to pay for evacuation charter flights for Americans to leave the Middle East because of disruptions in transportation caused by the Iran war.

The department had approved the use of money from a fund normally reserved for emergencies involving diplomatic and consular staff, according to two U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The State Department confirmed the use of the emergency funds but declined to specify the amount.

“We have sufficient funding to cover our efforts to date,” it said in response to a query from the AP. “The administration will work with Congress should additional funding be necessary.”

Under federal law, private Americans are obligated to reimburse the government for such transportation, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio waived that requirement last week.

The State Department has faced accusations from lawmakers and travelers of not adequately planning for the war that the U.S. and Israel launched in Iran and not acting quickly enough to help Americans in the region. The U.S. has advised Americans in 14 countries in the Middle East to leave, issuing a warning two days after the war began as closed airspace and flight cancellations made travel difficult.

Criticism of the State Department for its actions in crisis situations has been consistent through Democratic and Republican administrations, from the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003 to the chaotic 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan.

The department said in a statement Tuesday that more than 40,000 Americans have returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28, although the vast majority of those have made it home commercially without government assistance.

It said it has organized more than two dozen charter flights that have carried thousands of U.S. citizens from various Mideast countries to either the United States or Europe but that most of the more than 27,000 who have sought help “have declined assistance when offered, opting either to remain in country or book more convenient commercial flight options.”

“At this time, seats available on the department’s charter options are significantly greater than the demand from Americans in the region,” it said, adding that those charter flights “continue to operate with less than 40% occupancy on average.”