Passengers Included Military Contractors, All Allowed To Leave The Country

A charter flight operated by Flydubai was required to land in Iran due to an "out of date" flight plan on Friday. The plane was allowed to leave early Saturday morning with all passengers on board.

There were 100 Americans among the 140 persons on board the flight, according to a report from CNN. Some of them were military contractors, the report indicated. The charter flight had departed from Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan en route to the United Arab Emirates. But the departure was delayed by some three hours, and when the flight plan reportedly expired, the crew was told by Iranian air traffic controllers that they would have to return to Afghanistan.

The pilot said there was not enough fuel on board to return to the departure airport, and they were told to land or be "intercepted" according to officials.

The plane landed at Bandar Abbas near the Persian Gulf. It was inspected by Iranian Authorities, and was allowed to depart on Saturday after a new flight plan was filed and the plane was refueled.

FMI: www.state.gov