Connecticut church group back home after attacks on Iran upend Middle East travel arrangements
DARIEN, Connecticut (WABC) -- A church group from Connecticut is back home after the attacks on Iran upended their travel arrangements in the Middle East.
The group was visiting Bethlehem when the war with Iran started, and after a days-long journey to get out of the region, they managed to return home on Tuesday night.
The group fled to Jerusalem after the U.S. attacks in Iran, where they sheltered in place at a local college. They managed to drive to Amman, Jordan, where they got on a flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Rev. Ryan Fleenor is among those who managed to make it back to St. Luke's Parish in Darien.
"It was surreal, to have an app on your phone that gives you a first warning that missiles might be incoming to your location," Fleenor said.
The reverend spent much of last weekend in a bomb shelter at the Episcopal Cathedral in Jerusalem.
"Sometimes you'd hear explosions with missiles being intercepted overhead, and you would hear the explosion, you'd feel the building shake," he said.
Fleenor was with parishioners from Darien and Meriden visiting the Holy Land, with day trips scheduled to Nazareth and Bethlehem. The outbreak of war left them among thousands of Americans stranded when airports in several Middle East nations shut down.
The group traveled by bus to Jordan and flew home from Amman.
"I'm heartsick for the people who are still stranded and trying to get home. I feel very lucky that we were able to, but also heartsick for the people who that is home," Fleenor said.
Ira Plitz was also in Jerusalem visiting his two daughters, who reside there. But he lives in Teaneck, New Jersey with his wife and other children.
"I had never been so scared to walk," Plitz said. "I know this drill, I've been doing it for many many, many years. So, I knew once the airport closed, it could be weeks, if not a month until it reopens."
Plitz flew home from Istanbul, but had to first make a harrowing five-hour drive in the dark through the Sinai Desert in Egypt. Plitz says he's fortunate he could pay for an alternate route home, and also feels for those who remain stranded.
"All these other countries made arrangements for this, and the State Department, they're just now getting in gear five or six days later, it's incomprehensible to me," Plitz said.
While both Rev. Fleenor and Plitz plan to travel to Israel one day in the future, it remains unclear when it will be safe to do so.
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