Stranded travelers in Israel fear “we will never be able to leave” as evacuation plans thwarted
- Global emergency travel assistance platform Robin Assist says situation “very similar to what was experienced during 9/11”
- Company has provided support to over 3,000 people stranded in Israel since last Saturday October 7th
- Those fortunate enough to fly out of the country are finding no available direct flights and facing routes of up to 32 hours.
COLUMBUS, OHIO, USA, October 13, 2023 — Stranded travelers in Israel desperate to leave the country fear that “we will never be able to get out” and are commenting that “we are being failed by our embassies” as the evacuation plans of many travel companies are thwarted over safety fears, reports global emergency travel assistance platform Robin Assist.
Since last Saturday October 7th, Robin Assist has provided support to around 3,000 people – an unprecedented volume of requests compared to a normal period – stuck in Israel helping to arrange travel out of the country and medical assistance services on the ground.
Robin Assist’s CEO, Sasha Gainullin comments: “I’ve worked in the emergency assistance and travel insurance space for the past 25 years, including supporting people stuck in war zones and natural disasters. I can honestly say that the situation in Israel is very similar to 9/11. This is because of the complex intricacies of security risks and the limited options available when arranging travel for thousands of people trying to get out of Israel.”
Adding to the challenges that travelers are facing in trying to leave the country, the availability of flights has severely dropped with many airlines cancelling flights to and from Israel.
Meanwhile those lucky enough to find a flight are finding that the only affordable options involve very long and indirect routes. For example flights to New York, Chicago and San Francisco (based on flight comparison site Skyscanner at the time of writing – see below) are taking 31 hours, 24 hours and 32 hours respectively.
About Robin Assist
Robin Assist, a tech-driven emergency travel assistance platform, is part of battleface Inc., supporting the travel insurance industry globally. It provides 24/7 responsive customer service, claims, emergency travel and medical assistance from any device, any time, any place. The operations team consists of multi-lingual talented humans who come from an extensive travel insurance service and assistance background.