Kabul flight carrying Americans denied landing rights in US: Report

Dubai: The US has reportedly denied landing rights to a chartered flight carrying Americans and green card holders evacuated from Afghanistan, citing technical issues.

About 117 people, including 59 children and comprising Americans and Afghans were boarded on the Kam Air, a private Afghan airline only to be stuck at the Abu Dhabi airport after the flight was denied landing rights.

Bryan Stern, a founder of non-profit group Project Dynamo who charted the flight and said that the Department of Homeland Security was hesitant in giving the landing right for an international flight into a US port of entry.

Stern spoke to Reuters from aboard a plane his group chartered from Kam Air, a private Afghan airline that he said had been sitting for 14 hours at Abu Dhabi airport after arriving from Kabul with 117 people, including 59 children.

Stern was quoted as saying that the group of people the flight was carrying have emerged from ad hoc networks of U.S. military veterans, current and former U.S. officials and others that was formed to bolster last month's U.S. evacuation operation they saw as chaotic and badly organized.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has said its top priority is repatriating Americans and green card holders unable to leave Afghanistan in the U.S. evacuation operation last month.

A senior State Department official on Monday said the United States was aware of about 100 American citizens and legal permanent residents ready to leave Afghanistan.