Since the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan at the end of August, no foreign passenger flight had taken off from Kabul. This Thursday, September 8, a plane evacuating a hundred people, including Americans, however left the capital.
This flight, which landed a few hours later in Doha, Qatar, is therefore the first of its kind since the gigantic airlift organized by the United States last month. At the time, more than 120,000 people were evacuated, forced to flee the country due to the sudden return to power of the Taliban.
Boarding the chartered plane this Thursday, September 8 took place under the surveillance of Qatari guards. Passengers completed departure formalities at Kabul airport and then boarded buses on the tarmac, which took them to the foot of a Qatar Airways aircraft. Take-off took place shortly after.
“Some 113” passengers were on board the Boeing 777, including Americans, Canadians, Germans and Ukrainians, a source close to the operation told AFP.
For several days, Doha, in alliance with Turkey, has been trying to prepare the airport structures in Kabul for a gradual reopening. The task will not be easy because the infrastructure has been degraded by the chaotic evacuations organized at the end of August by foreign countries. Thousands of Afghans were massing around the enclosure of the building, in a desperate attempt to escape.
