Congresswoman Nancy Mace announced on March 13 that the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and the State Department have reached an agreement with El Al Airlines to provide nonstop return flights to the United States for Americans departing Israel, starting March 16.
The arrangement comes after what Mace described as urgent calls for government action to evacuate stranded Americans from a war zone. She said she had been requesting transatlantic flights since March 9 and went public with her request on March 12 when no additional planes were committed.
Mace spent the past week in the Middle East, working alongside Grey Bull Rescue, a crisis response organization, to help coordinate the evacuation of hundreds of American citizens. She met with foreign leaders, embassy personnel, U.S. ambassadors, and other officials who agreed to assist with additional evacuations using their aircraft. According to the announcement, she departed Israel on a rescue flight filled with Americans.
Mace worked directly with the State Department to secure an aircraft for evacuees managed by Grey Bull Rescue and helped run ground operations by locating stranded Americans and coordinating logistics. “I begged privately for planes. I begged publicly for planes. We said it loud and we said it clear: get our American citizens out of a warzone,” said Congresswoman Mace. “Today’s announcement proves pressure works, but we weren’t willing to wait. We got on a plane, worked the phones, sat across from government officials and foreign leaders, and didn’t stop until Americans were boarding flights home. This is what our job is all about.” She added: “When Americans needed their government to show up, we showed up. Now they’re coming home.”
Under this new agreement with El Al Airlines, U.S. citizens—including those who already hold tickets or wish to purchase new ones—will be able to travel on nonstop flights outside of standard passenger caps currently in effect.
Nancy Mace is currently serving in the U.S. Congress representing South Carolina’s 1st district after replacing Joe Cunningham in 2021 according to Wikipedia. She previously served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2018 to 2020 as reported by Ballotpedia. Born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina in 1977, Mace is now 45 years old and lives in Charleston according to her official biography. She graduated from The Citadel in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science degree as noted by The Citadel.
The broader impact of this agreement may set a precedent for future emergency evacuations involving cooperation between airlines and government agencies.
