Yesterday, I decided to fly back to the US from Turkey, transiting through Schengen area, in light of rumors around the #ExecutiveOrder banning #H1B holders from re-entry. Today, I am stuck in Frankfurt and here is what happened:
1. I bought a ticket from Ankara to Istanbul to Newark with a transit through Frankfurt and got on the flight ankara-istanbul flight. No issues.
2. In Istanbul, they told 7 of us that they recieved the news that the US gov is no longer allowing valid visa holders to enter. They made calls to DC and NY embassies in hush hush notes.
3. When a couple people disagreed, they said fine « just go and try it ». So we all made it to Frankfurt, went through security and boarding pass checks.
4. #unitedairlines reps told us our visas are fine but we should wait for another rep to check it
5. This other rep showed up 10 mins before boarding and took our passport and asked if we have special authorization from the embassy. No one told us we needed one so that was no go
6. He took our boarding pass and told us we aren’t allowed to travel under the new guidance.
7. So we all tried to rush to the flight back to Turkey, #turkishairlines asked us to book online tickets despite « return protection ». They didn’t want to pay the bill.
8. I did a little bit of inquiry and it turned to be a blame game: turkish airlines didn’t know, united airlines didn’t know, US just changed the regulation overnight whatnot
9. So here I am. Paid $1500 to spend many hours in airports with a mask to go back and contribute to the land of freedom and opportunities.
10. Is this a pure COVID prevention technique or harbinger of what’s to come from Trump administration? No clue but treating miself to a Lauenstein chocolate and making myself believe that it was worth the try.
Since many asked, here is a handy map for travel restrictions, updates can happen overnight so check frequently and call the embassy of your destination country. Dont trust airlines!!iatatravelcentre.com/international-…
Update: Made it back home at 3 am. They lost my luggage filled with Turkish snacks but have my selfmade care package of Launstein. Time to anxiously wait and see if I will develop symptoms. Having one more worry will be a good distraction from the immigration worries. 
I was well aware of the ongoing travel ban but transit wasn’t clearly stated. Called #UA before I booked,asked if nonperm residents can enter, and they said no issues. Turkish Air advised me to book through Frankfurt and continue to claim they had no issues the day before.
