Emergency extraction – what really happens?

When the Iran war began back in March 2026, neighbouring Iraq closed its airspace for safety reasons, initially for 48 hours.

We had clients with two European nationals at work on a project in Basra, in southeastern Iraq, who were covered  for Kidnap & Ransom cover which, importantly, included an extension for Emergency Security Evacuation situations.

Left stranded and worried about their personal safety, the client made a call to the policy’s Crisis Assistance specialist support team. This is how their emergency extraction unfolded.

Day 0

The client’s Head of Legal called the policy’s Crisis Assistance Provider and an immediate conference call was set up. Discussions between the security specialists and the client’s team quickly assessed possible options. 

1. Wait for airspace to open to enable flight evacuations from Baghdad.
2. Consider overland extraction to neighbouring Jordan, where airspace remained open, with air evacuation from there.
3. On consular advice from the home country of one of the European nationals involved, make an overland trip to the Turkish border, departing through Kurdistan Province. 

Secure hotel accommodation in Baghdad was booked and secure transport arranged, while the developing situation was evaluated.

Day 1

Local intelligence about threats from Iranian proxies targeting Western assets and individuals in Iraq made waiting things out riskier, and it was agreed action needed to be taken.

Due to the prevailing instability in Iraq and uncertainty surrounding the operational status of Baghdad airport, a land evacuation presented as the best option.

Baghdad to Amman in Jordan was selected as the preferred option, as the land journey was shorter than the trip to the Turkish border and Jordanian airspace remained open.

The security specialists introduced a pre-vetted, secure transport provider with armoured vehicles and armed protection for the land journey.

Day 2

All parties were linked in a secure WhatsApp group where the timeline and details of the dedicated security team were shared. Flights from Amman to Europe were reserved and the plan was agreed by everyone involved.

Day 3

Early morning, the two evacuees were picked up from their hotel by an armed protection team in two armoured vehicles. The border crossing into Jordan was reached before midday. 

The Operations Centre shared a photograph of the designated car waiting on the Jordanian side of the border in the WhatsApp group. The car was waiting within the government area—an area accessible only to authorised vehicles. 

The evacuees completed their visa applications and paid the associated fees, a process which took approximately three hours. 

Subsequently, a border officer escorted them to a taxi rather than the approved vehicle. The taxi driver requested a USD 200 fee for a journey of a few hundred meters to the public area. The security team immediately contacted the taxi driver and settled the payment, negating any possible risk at this late stage. The evacuees joined their approved transportation and successfully transferred to Amman, arriving later that night. 

Day 4

Early in the morning the security team collected the two evacuees from the hotel and escorted them to the airport, where they subsequently boarded their flights to be reunited with families in their home countries. 

Lessons learned – the essential elements in this smooth extraction

• The client was asked to form an Incident Management Team with clear roles and responsibilities to enable fast decision-making.
• When it is safe to do so, in a rapidly changing scenario like this, taking some time to see how the situation is likely to unfold can be the best strategy.
• Intelligence on the ground from trusted sources is often more dependable than government advice from afar.
• A secure evacuation must be planned end-to-end, all the way out of potential danger and through the safe country to boarding outbound flights home.
• Personal Accident Insurance can provide much more than peace of mind or reimbursements; it connects you with a network of international experts, trained to help your people reach safety when they need it most.