The State Department has authorized up to $40 million in emergency funds to charter flights for Americans leaving the Middle East, officials said Tuesday, as those government-organized aircraft have flown at less than 40 percent of capacity on average and the department faces mounting criticism over its response to travel disruptions caused by the Iran war.
More than 40,000 Americans have returned to the United States from the Middle East since fighting began Feb. 28, the department said, but the vast majority traveled home on commercial flights without government assistance — leaving a charter program that costs tens of millions of dollars largely underutilized.
Emergency fund tapped for charter program
The $40 million comes from a reserve normally held for emergencies involving diplomatic and consular staff, according to two U.S. officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. 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,” the department said in a statement Tuesday. “The administration will work with Congress should additional funding be necessary.”
As MSI previously reported, the department’s authorization of emergency reserves to fund the evacuation effort followed the Feb. 28 start of the war the United States and Israel launched against Iran. That earlier report detailed the initial authorization; the figures released Tuesday provide the first public accounting of the program’s scale and utilization.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week waived the federal requirement that private Americans reimburse the government for the cost of such transportation.
Charters fly mostly empty as Americans choose commercial options
The department said it has organized more than two dozen charter flights that have carried thousands of U.S. citizens from various Middle East countries to either the United States or Europe. Of the more than 27,000 Americans who sought government help, most “declined assistance when offered, opting either to remain in country or book more convenient commercial flight options,” the department said.
“At this time, seats available on the department’s charter options are significantly greater than the demand from Americans in the region,” the department said, adding that those flights “continue to operate with less than 40% occupancy on average.”
Criticism over planning and pace
The State Department has faced accusations from lawmakers and travelers of not adequately planning for the conflict and not acting quickly enough to assist Americans once fighting began. The U.S. issued departure advisories for Americans in 14 countries in the Middle East two days after the war began, as closed airspace and flight cancellations made travel difficult.
Criticism of the State Department’s performance in crisis situations has followed Democratic and Republican administrations alike, from the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003 to the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.