SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — A couple from Flat Rock stranded in the Maldives and a physician from Okemos stuck in Dubai are among the Michigan residents struggling to get home as the conflict in the Middle East continues to disrupt international travel.
The U.S. State Department announced it is facilitating charter flights for American citizens from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and set up an online form and a 24/7 phoneline to help those seeking assistance. But some Michigan families say they remain trapped.
Watch the video report below:
Angela and Baxter "Trey" Reid traveled to the Maldives after the death of a family member and Trey's cancer diagnosis. The Ford Motor Co. line worker and health care worker had planned the trip of a lifetime, but the conflict broke out while they were abroad. Although the Maldives is not in the Middle East, flights back to Detroit all connect through the region — and all of those flights have been canceled.
Because the Reids are not located directly in the Middle East, they say the State Department's chartered flight program does not apply to them.
"We heard that there really wasn't any help that they could offer because we weren't technically in the Middle East," Angela Reid said. "At this point, we are willing to do anything to just be home."
Watch more of their story below:
The couple is now exploring options to travel home through Asia at their own expense — a costly journey that could take several days.
Dr. Salim Jaffer, a U.S. citizen working as a physician and living in Okemos near East Lansing, traveled to Dubai last Thursday to visit a friend for his birthday. Days later, he heard missiles being intercepted overhead.
"We were sitting in our restaurant outside on the seaside Dubai when we actually heard two or three more booms up in the sky," Jaffer said.
On Wednesday, Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson stated that more than 17,000 American citizens have already safely returned to the U.S. from the Middle East. However, Jaffer remains stranded, waiting either for a chartered flight or for his commercial flight home scheduled for Thursday — if it is not canceled.
"I came here thinking I'm coming to an extremely safe country. And again, let me reiterate that it is extremely safe, but I did not expect this kind of anxiety-provoking feeling that I have never experienced this in my life," Jaffer said.
Related video: Iranian college student in Michigan fears for family after Middle East strikes
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters says getting Americans home is of the highest priority and that the process has been frustrating and delayed.
"We're pressing to make sure that resources are available to get Americans out of the war zone and areas around that," Peters said.
Peters also said the situation could have been handled better from the start.
Hear more from Gary Peters below:
"The process has begun. It's a little behind... we were frustrated with the administration that they knew this was likely to happen. This is not something that just happens overnight. It looks like to us that it happened overnight, but certainly, the military planners had been planning on this for a long time. They should have been thinking about this beforehand. It doesn't seem like that has happened. So that has not been handled well, and we're trying to make up for lost ground."
Americans who need the government's help arranging travel should call +1-202-501-4444 from abroad or +1-888-407-4747 from the U.S. and Canada.
_______________
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
