At 01:30am on Tuesday 24th August 2021, an RAF Voyager aircraft touched down at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire with Afghan nationals evacuated from Kabul. Eligible local staff, who supported the UK Government in Afghanistan, and their families, have been relocated to the UK under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Programme.
The Voyager arrived from Minhad Airbase in Dubai, where Afghan Relocation and Assistance Programme passengers had earlier arrived from Kabul in Afghanistan.
This aircraft is one of many RAF and chartered flights evacuating eligible personnel from the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. The passengers arriving on this flight included babies and young children as well as older family members and local staff.
The Air Mobility Wing, in partnership with other RAF units, Border Force, civilian and military police, the Red Cross and Oxfordshire County Council managed the disembarkation of the passengers prior to them being processed, fed and receiving health checks.
"We received quite a lot of donations. A lot of these families are coming here with absolutely nothing, some of the children have no shoes, so we provide what we can to make their trip through Brize Norton more comfortable."
Squadron Leader Dowds
Chief of Staff, Base Support Wing RAF Brize Norton
Operation PITTING has been a RAF Whole Force effort with troops, including a deployed RAF Police element, supporting the Operation alongside the British Army, Royal Navy, local authorities and aid organisations in Afghanistan and the UK. The full fleet of RAF transport aircraft from RAF Brize Norton have been flying around the clock to support the evacuation and will continue to do so over the coming days.
See Afghan nationals arrive at RAF Brize Norton and interviews with RAF personnel at the Repatriation Centre processing the flight below.
