The fourth flight of Qatar Airways carrying over 230 passengers including Afghans and citizens of the US and European countries arrived in Doha yesterday.
The first flight with over 100 passengers had arrived in Doha on September 9. The evacuation flights had started after technical teams from Qatar and Turkey turned Kabul airport operational after withdrawal of US forces at the end of last month.
“Just now the 4th @qatarairways passengers flight took off from Kabul (HKIA) carrying more than 230 passengers, including Afghans & citizens from the US, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Canada, France, Italy, UK, Finland, and the Netherlands,” Assistant Foreign Minister H E Lolwah Al Khater tweeted yesterday evening.
Earlier, the second Qatar Airways passenger flight had carried 158 passengers, including US, German, Canadian, French, Dutch, British, Belgian and Mauritanian nationals on September 10.
On September 17 (Friday), the third Qatar Airways flight had brought around 170 people from Afghanistan to Qatar. Foreign nationals on board on September 17 flight included those from Belgium, Britain, Croatia, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy as well as the United States.
Ahmad Mukhtar, a Kabul based journalist tweeted yesterday: “4th plane with 236 passengers just departed Kabul to Doha. Citizens from United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, as well as their families were among the evacuees. It is the largest evacuation flight since August 31.”
On Saturday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium thanked Qatar for evacuating Belgians from Afghanistan. “We are very grateful to #Qatar for organizing flights from #Kabul to #Doha. Thanks to Qatar, Belgians and their families were able to leave #Afghanistan over the past few days with Belgium as final destination,” the Ministry said in a tweet.
On Friday (September 17), Tom de Bruijn, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, had also expressed his gratitude to Qatar. “Grateful to the State of Qatar for facilitating 29 people flying from Kabul to Doha ahead of their onward travel to the Netherlands,” he said in a tweet.
Liz Truss, British Foreign Secretary also tweeted on Friday, “Thank you @MBA_AlThani_ & our Qatari friends for arranging a 3rd flight carrying more UK nationals from Kabul.”
Meanwhile on Saturday, a Qatar Airways Cargo plane carrying 8.7 MT of @WHO life-saving medical and trauma supplies landed in Kabul. “This new shipment will benefit 2,500 trauma patients and 2,400 children with pneumonia in #Afghanistan,” WHO tweeted.
Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a tweet: “This is the third @WHO shipment of the week to Kabul with medical supplies. Grateful to #Qatar for supporting the needs in #Afghanistan.”
