Airbus A400M;
Credit: EMA
On Wednesday 18 August 2021, Luxembourg's Ministry of Defense has confirmed that the country's A400M military aircraft operated by the Luxembourg army took off at 16:45 from Melsbroek airport in Belgium to participate in the evacuation operation from Afghanistan: its destination is Islamabad in Pakistan.
The plane is part of the Belgian detachment, responsible for evacuating nationals and beneficiaries from Afghanistan. The Luxembourg A400M will provide strategic passenger transport from Islamabad to Europe.
The full detachment is currently made up of four planes, the A400M, two C130s and a Falcon7X, and a hundred people (for security reasons around military operations, the exact number and composition of the detachment cannot be released).
The Falcon 7X deployed with Belgian consular staff and the preparation team has already arrived safely in Islamabad, Pakistan, and staff are continuing preparatory work there.
The consular team will work from Kabul airport and will liaise with the Belgian Embassy in Islamabad and with the airport authorities. It will also welcome passengers. The Belgian military preparation team will make the necessary contacts with the local authorities to ensure rotations between Islamabad and Kabul.
This operation is part of the European repatriation effort and is coordinated by the EATC (European Air Transport Command).
