By David Shepardson and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The first U.S. State Department-organized flight taking Americans out of Israel during the conflict in Gaza landed in Athens on Friday, a White House official told Reuters.
White House spokesperson John Kirby earlier told reporters the first charter flight that the State Department organized had departed from Israel and was en route to Europe.
Kirby said the government is exploring departure options by sea as well. “We’re just trying to add to the options.”
Reuters identified the flight on a U.S.-based charter company from flight records, and a White House official confirmed it had landed on the condition of anonymity.
Additional charter flights are scheduled between Athens and Tel Aviv through at least Oct. 19, a separate source said.
More than 400 Americans were signed up for the first flight but that figure includes an assumption that some would not turn up for the flight, a different source said.
On Wednesday, United Airlines said it would add two flights between Newark, New Jersey, and Athens, starting on Thursday to help Americans trying to return home from Israel. The company said on Thursday it would add a third round trip. Delta Air Lines also said it would add flights to Athens in the coming days.
American Airlines said it has “seats available from European airports that offer capacity for connections from Israel and will continue to coordinate with the U.S. Department of State on any additional capacity needs, either through operating larger aircraft or adding flights.”
A State Department email on Thursday seen by Reuters said it plans to offer transit options beginning on Friday “but it will take some period of time to schedule everyone seeking to depart.” Americans traveling “will be asked to sign an agreement to repay the U.S. government prior to departure,” the government added.
United, American and Delta all temporarily halted direct flights to Israel.
Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma held discussions with U.S. airlines earlier this week about the issue, sources told Reuters, adding that he told them the U.S. government had received roughly 17,000 inquiries about travel assistance leaving Israel.
(Reporting by David Shepardson, Phil Stewart, Doina Chiacu, Jarrett Renshaw, Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason, Editing by Franklin Paul and Bill Berkrot)
