The contractor, Laing Wimpey Alireza (a Saudi-British joint venture) who, despairing of ever being paid after repeated delays, spirited its employees out of the country. Or, if you like, did a "corporate runner"!
In staggered groups, staff went to different parts of the country and then departed on "vacations" using exit/re-entry visas. Such stealth was deemed necessary to avoid the taking of "commercial hostages". And it succeeded, as the company retrieved all its workers without a single one being held.
There was also a story about a special aircraft being chartered to pick up people at the (then) airport at Dhahran (although I have never established the truth of that one ... perhaps Tony knows)!
