The New England Patriots are helping bring Americans home — with a little help from their team jet.
A Patriots-branded aircraft was used by the U.S. State Department to evacuate Americans from the Middle East as the joint U.S.–Israeli military campaign against Iran entered its seventh day.
Dylan Johnson, the State Department’s assistant secretary for global public affairs, posted a photo on X showing Americans boarding the charter flight — an aircraft dubbed “AirKraft” that prominently features the Patriots logo and images of the franchise’s six Super Bowl trophies.
“Americans boarding one of the many State Department charter flights leaving the Middle East to the U.S.,” Johnson wrote. “This plane landed safely this morning in Washington.”
According to the State Department, the flight touched down in Washington, D.C. early Friday after departing the Middle East with Americans seeking to leave the region amid escalating tensions.
Johnson said roughly 24,000 American citizens have safely returned to the United States from the Middle East since Feb. 28, though that number does not include Americans who relocated to other countries or are still in transit back to the U.S.
President Donald Trump also highlighted the evacuation effort Friday in a post on Truth Social, saying the U.S. is quietly moving large numbers of Americans out of the region.
“We are moving thousands of people out of various Countries throughout the Middle East,” Trump wrote. “It is being done quietly, but seamlessly. The State Department, under Secretary Marco Rubio, is doing a great job!”
The State Department is urging Americans who still need help leaving the Middle East to contact its 24-hour emergency hotline at +1-202-501-4444.
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