Check out our updated story of the tour group's safe arrival home here:

http://www.westseattleherald.com/2011/02/01/news/cairo-stranded-west-se…

UPDATE 4

The entire Alki Tour Group is safe and sound at a hotel in Athens after being evacuated from the Cairo, Egypt Airport.

Claire Nolan, owner, Alki Tour, told the West Seattle Herald that the group was scheduled to fly out at 2:pm their time, 4:am our time.

"At 5am we did not here, then heard from Tysen when they arrived in Athens, Nolan said. "We heard they aer safe and sound in Athens and treated really well.
We will be shuttling them from the airport in Seattle to their homes tomorrow."

According to Douglas Prior, owner, Alki Tours at the Morgan Junction in West Seattle, 35 people from Puget Sound, 9 from West Seattle, mostly seniors, are stranded at the Cairo airport waiting to leave troubled Egypt tomorrow. Three others in the group were able to leave for Amsterdam. The West Seattle Herald contacted Prior and will continue with updates.

The leader of the tour is Tyson Verse, an experienced tour guide, said Prior.

"Three were on KLM, but then KLM cancelled all flights," said Prior. "Lufthansa cancelled all their flights. Tyson and the group are sleeping on the floor of the airport with other people. Apparently the airport is fortified and is not a target of protest.

"I worked with Tyson Verse on a cruise ship. He was in charge of tourism for Haines, Alaska. He's been to Egypt before, was stuck in Australia for 9/11 which is not quite as ramped up as this. But I have known him and worked with him for years.

"Everyone he said seems to be handling it pretty well. A few people with cell phones have called home, so right now it seems to be a comfortable night. The U.S. is supposed to charter flights to Greece or Cyprus and Lufthansa would pick them up there. They are making people pay for these chartered planes apparently. You don't have to take the planes.

According to Prior: "Everything was going great. There were small protests. Then it started to ramp up a bit. Friday the group got on the train in Aswan, and the government sprayed tear gas, maybe at protesters there, which was released outside and a little bit came into the train. They (the tourists) felt a little bit of tear gas."

Aswan is on the Nile River, about 400 miles south of Cairo.

"They got to Cairo OK and were immediately surrounded by 10 security guards to protect them. Even when everything is going fine, they have guards accompanying tourists. Tyson said they had an unusual amount of guards to protect them. They went to the bus from the train, then to the Oasis Hotel by the Pyramids outside of Cairo, and eventually all went to the Cairo Airport."

The West Seattle Herald spoke to Lauren Turpen, Alki Tours office manager. She said:

"We had a tour group departing Jan. 21 and completed the majority of their tour. We were scheduled to be on the 30th. Last night they could start to hear what sounded like machine gun fire from the (Oasis) hotel, so we moved the group to the airport. We were told U.S. citizens will be evacuated from the airport tomorrow to another city.

"Then we try to get them on other flights to get back to America. Friday there was no cell phone or Internet access. The Internet is still down but we do have cell phone capability. At the Cairo Airport many countries have represented there on site. The U.S. has nobody on site from the Embassy or Consulate so far. I think it is very frustrating."

STATEMENT RELEASED 7:30 p.m. tonight to Douglas Prior from the U.S State Department:

Dear Mr. Prior,

Thank you for your e-mail. We need additional information in order to register the U.S. citizens in our database. Please provide the names, ages, places of birth, contact information, U.S. passport numbers and any special medical needs that are applicable.

In the meantime, below is the latest information available about the U.S.-government arranged travel for U.S. citizens in Egypt. Please continue to monitor http://travel.state.gov/ for additional updates.

The U.S. Embassy in Cairo informs U.S. citizens in Egypt who wish to depart that the Department of State is making arrangements to provide transportation to safe haven locations in Europe. This assistance will be provided on a reimbursable basis, as required by U.S. law. U.S. citizens who travel on US government - arranged transport will be expected to make their own onward travel plans from the safe haven location. Flights to evacuation points will begin departing Egypt on Monday, January 31. There will be a limited number of seats available on evacuation flights on January 31. Priority will be given to persons with medical emergencies or severe medical conditions. Persons interested in departing Egypt via USG-chartered transportation should contact the US Department of State and Embassy Cairo by sending an email to EgyptEmergencyUSC@state.gov or by calling 1-202-501-4444.

Travelers are permitted only one piece of luggage per person.

Immediate family members (spouses, parent, and children) who are not U.S. citizens must be documented with a valid passport for entry into the safe haven country and/or U.S., if that is your final destination. We are currently working to arrange flights to Nicosia, Istanbul, and Athens. Travelers will not be able to choose their destination.

U.S. citizens who do not have a valid passport should apply for an emergency passport at the Embassy in Cairo. The Embassy will be open from 8:30 a.m. for emergency passport services.

U.S. citizens with a valid passport may proceed to the Hajj Terminal (terminal 4) of the airport after 11:00 am. U.S. citizens seeking evacuation should be prepared for a substantial wait at the airport. Travelers are advised to bring food, water, diapers and other necessary toiletries with them to the airport.

At this time, Embassy Cairo reports that the road to the airport is safe once downtown is cleared and that taxis are plentiful outside of the center of the city.)

Sincerely,
Egypt Task Force, US Department of State