JEDDAH/DAMMAM, 20 March 2003 — The US Embassy in Riyadh has advised US citizens who wished to leave to contact airlines for reservations while commercial flights are still available, adding that “additional disruptions are possible”.
This followed an announcement by Lufthansa that it had stopped flights to and from Dammam in the Eastern Province because they were an extension of the airline’s Kuwait service which has been temporarily discontinued.
The US advisory note, sent via the network of volunteer wardens who keep members of the expatriate community in touch with their embassy, did not expressly suggest that US citizens should leave.
However, last week the US Embassy advised Americans living and working in the Kingdom to consider leaving in light of possible risks. According to an embassy official on Monday, very few of the 35,000 strong US community have left so far.
Air-India has scheduled extra flights to meet heavily increased demand by Indian nationals out of Kuwait and the Gulf region.
“This is not an evacuation as passengers have bought the tickets,” said Air-India spokesman, Jitendra Bhargav. He added that evacuation would only begin on government orders when the situation demanded it.
In the Eastern Province, there was confusion over the status of flights. Foreign news channels reported that several airlines flying from Dammam, Manama and Kuwait would cease commercial operations. However, Air-India in Dammam confirmed that they would continue normal operations.
EgyptAir announced in Cairo that it was scheduling six extra flights to bring 1,600 of its nationals home from Kuwait and will set up an air bridge between Amman and Cairo to repatriate Egyptians.
