The USA Today interviews Global Rescue CEO Dan Richards in a Q&A about getting to safety in Egypt:

By: Laura Bly

As U.S. residents and travelers scramble to leave Egypt in the wake of a State Department warning and offer of evacuation flights, other would-be tourists are wondering whether they’ll get their money back for canceled trips. Answers to some of the most common questions:

Q. I’m in Egypt now. How do I get out?

A. The U.S. State Department expects to evacuate 1,200 Americans today and 1,000 Tuesday on charter flights from Cairo to “safe havens” in Europe, most likely Athens, Istanbul and Nicosia, Cyprus. Flights could continue for several days, and may expand to Luxor, Aswan or other cities if needed. Travelers with tickets on commercial airlines should contact those carriers first; the State Department warns that priority on evacuation charters will be given to those with serious medical conditions and the cost (typically that of a one-way commercial flight) must be reimbursed. Travelers in need of evacuation flights should send an email to EgyptEmergencyUSC@state.gov or call (202) 501-4444. Updates are also being posted via the State Department’s Twitter feed.

Global Rescue, a travel assistance and rescue company, says it has been asked to evacuate about 250 people – mostly Americans – from Egypt since Friday. So far, it has flown about a quarter of its members in Egypt to cities like Amman, Jordan, Prague, Istanbul and Athens, and more calls are coming in daily.

“It’s been all systems go since Friday,” CEO Dan Richards told USA TODAY’s Roger Yu. “The need for evacuation has grown since the demonstration intensified last week.” The company transports customers to “collection points” and reroutes them to nearby airports for flights on private aircraft. Evacuations are easier in smaller cities than in Cairo, where airspace is more limited. Global Rescue received a call from a student group in Alexandria Sunday evening at 9 p.m. local time, and flew them out early Monday afternoon.