Miami woman helping people get on charter flights out of Israel – NBC 6 South Florida
When it comes to helping the people of Israel, a Miami woman has found her niche.
Nicole, who wants to keep her last name private, is operating a flight relief effort out of her Brickell condominium.
“Since we just sat here, I have gotten 13 messages, I mean, we have sat here for five minutes,” she said during an interview with NBC6 Thursday.
Nicole has managed to cut through bureaucracy and book a charter flight from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv to the nearby country of Cypress.
She lived in Israel for two years and came back to Florida six months ago.
One of her contacts in Israel reached out a few days ago, saying there were a few seats left on a small plane which was evacuating people.
“So I made an Instagram story, if anybody needed a way out, and I got hundreds of messages,” she said.
One woman wrote how her parents are stuck in Jerusalem and she has a newborn baby that does not have a passport.
Many others are making similar desperate pleas for Nicole to help with evacuating.
“I had people that said ‘hey, we got on a flight for tomorrow, all good’ and then wrote me an hour later and said ‘our flights are getting canceled,'” Nicole said.
With the assistance of a travel agent in New York, she secured a jet to accommodate 155 people.
All seats are booked and it’s set to leave Tel Aviv Friday morning.
U.S. airlines have suspended flights in and out of Israel. On Thursday, the U.S. State Department announced charter flights are being arranged to help U.S. citizens and their family members evacuate Israel.
“We have been in close coordination with commercial air providers about discussing ways that flights can be turned back on,” said Vadant Patel, a State Department spokesperson. “Additionally, we are looking into what options might be available for chartering flights and other methods for American citizens who have wished that they would like to depart the region.”
Anyone interested in helping Nicole in her effort to evacuate people from Israel can email her at [email protected].
