The UK has confirmed that it has conducted airlifts to evacuate British nationals and eligible Afghans who had fled Afghanistan to a neighbouring country, with two flights by UK Royal Air Force (RAF) A400M Atlas aircraft taking place between October 15-22.
In total, 102 evacuees, with around 30 on the first flight and 70 on the second, were flown to another third country before boarding a Voyager Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft for the flight to the UK.
The sensitive nature of the process means that exact details of which neighbouring country these flights have come from is not known, but it is certain that the UK has engaged with more than one of Afghanistan’s neighbours to help facilitate evacuees. Landlocked Afghanistan borders China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
