US ban forces Iranians home after days at Vienna airport
Elderly couple and an unrelated middle-aged woman held out hope they would be able to complete trips to visit family in US
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VIENNA, Austria — Three Iranians have been forced to return home after being stuck in transit at Vienna airport for three days due to the United States travel ban on people from seven mainly-Muslim countries, an Austrian Airlines official said Monday.
An elderly couple and an unrelated middle-aged woman arrived from Isfahan, south of Tehran, on Saturday morning, expecting to catch connecting flights to the US to visit family members, AUA spokesman Peter Thier said.
“But they got surprised here in Vienna by the US Homeland Security’s new entry regulations,” Thier told AFP.
The trio had refused AUA’s offer to fly them back to Iran on Saturday “because they hoped that they would be allowed to continue their journey”, Thier added.
However, negotiations between the Iranian embassy in Vienna and US authorities proved fruitless and the passengers agreed on Monday afternoon to return home on the next available flight.
“The passengers have decided not to wait any longer for the connecting flight to USA.”
The Austrian capital is a key transit hub for Iranians traveling to the US.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending entry into the US by citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Iran and Iraq.
The move, which also suspended the arrival of refugees, has sparked mass protests at US airports and drawn condemnation from world leaders.
Tehran said Saturday it would reciprocate with a ban on Americans entering the country.
The Times of Israel Community.