First State Department Charter Flight Of U.S. Citizens Left Middle East WednesdayThe Trump administration announced that a flight chartered by the U.S. State Department for American citizens trapped in the Middle East left the region on Wednesday. This marks the first evacuation flight facilitated by the U.S. government to take off from the Middle East amid criticism about how the White House is handling the fallout of the war that has now entered a sixth day.The statement did not elaborate on the origin of the flight or its destination in the U.S. or say how many passengers boarded the aircraft."Additional flights will be surged across the region," it said.So far, 17,500 Americans have made it back to the U.S. from the Middle East since the war broke out, per the State Department."Many more Americans have left the Middle East to other countries in Europe and Asia, and others have safely departed the Middle East but are still in transit back to the United States," the department said.Today, a Department of State charter flight of American citizens departed the Middle East in route to the United States, as part of our ongoing efforts to assist Americans return home.Additional flights will be surged across the region and American citizens in UAE, Qatar, Saudi… pic.twitter.com/4egntuuWy3— Department of State (@StateDept) March 5, 2026See All UpdatesClose