Plane With Americans on Board Allowed to Leave Iran
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Hemera/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — A plane with 100 Americans on board that was ordered to land in Iran was allowed to leave hours later and has landed in Dubai, the U.S. State Department said.
The Fly Dubai plane had left Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and was on its way to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on Friday. It apparently took off hours later than scheduled, the officials said. By the time it was over Iran, Iranian authorities said the plane’s flight plan was no longer valid and the plane was ordered to land.
“This was a bureaucratic issue with the flight plan of the plane,” a senior U.S. official told ABC News. The plane was at Bandar Abbas, an airport in southeast Iran and the official.
The flight was allowed to leave hours later and flew to Dubai, according to State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf.
Harf denied reports that Iranian jets were scrambled.
The State Department expressed veiled gratitude to the Iranians.
“We appreciate the efforts of all parties to help the passengers get safely to their destination,” Harf said.
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