T he plane transporting Americans freed as part of a historic prisoner exchange with Russia has entered United States airspace, according to FlightRadar24 data. The aircraft crossed into US airspace offshore near Nantucket, Massachusetts, after departing from Ankara, Turkey around 8:00 p.m. local time (1700 UTC) on August 1.
Having been in the air for over nine hours, the plane has completed a lengthy journey, including a nearly four-hour flight from Moscow to Ankara. The freed Americans have been in transit for over 12 hours today.
The aircraft is expected to land at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after 11:30 p.m. local time. CNN confirmed that the plane is indeed carrying Evan Gershkovich, who was seen boarding it in Ankara.
President Joe Biden is en route to Joint Base Andrews to greet the returning freed Americans, including Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva. Accompanying the president is National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who has reached out to the families of the released individuals, inviting them to the White House. A US official indicated that the same group that was present in the Oval Office to hear about the release directly from Biden is expected to be there to welcome the freed Americans.
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