Spain ends the evacuation of people from Afghanistan

Spain’s two A400M aircraft from Kabul are already in Dubai after leaving Afghanistan.

“The first landed at 6.45am and the second at 7.20am. These two flights conclude the Spanish evacuation of aid workers from our country and of Afghan collaborators and their families,” the government said on August 27.

In these last A400M flights from Kabul to Dubai carried 81 Spaniards who were still in Afghanistan, including personnel from the embassy and military personnel from the Army and Air Force, four Portuguese military personnel and 85 Afghan collaborators from Spain, Portugal and NATO.

An Air Europa flight will arrive at the Torrejon Base at around 4.45pm later today.

Spanish Armed Forces have evacuated a total of 1,900 Afghan aid workers and their families, Spaniards and citizens from other countries such as the US and Portugal, the European Union, UN, NATO, and Embassy personnel.

Related: Britain’s Armed Forces have now entered the final stages of the evacuation from Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul.

The UK’s ability to process further cases is now extremely reduced and additional numbers will be limited. No further people will be called forward to the airport for evacuation. Evacuating all those civilians we have already processed will free up the capacity needed on UK military aircraft to bring out our remaining diplomats and military personnel.

The decision to close the evacuating handling centre was made by the Chief of Joint Operations and authorised by the Defence Secretary. It reflects the latest understanding of the situation on the ground.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said, “Our top priority as we move through this process will be the protection of all those involved who are operating in a heightened threat environment.

“It is with deep regret that not everyone has been able to be evacuated during this process. But I am proud of this remarkable achievement from our Border Force, Armed Forces, MOD, FCDO, Home Office who have evacuated over 13,000 people in 14 days during Operation Pitting. We will continue to honour our debt to all those who have not yet been able to leave Afghanistan. We will do all that we can to ensure they reach safety,” he added on August 27.

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