More flights expected with ADF 'moving urgently' to evacuate Australians, Afghan aides

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has vowed to keep “moving urgently” to evacuate Australians and Afghan visa holders stranded in Kabul with rescue missions to continue into the coming weeks. An additional 76 people were shipped out of Afghanistan’s capital overnight and transferred to the Al Minhad Air based in the United Arab Emirates. A further 40 Australian Defence Force personnel have been deployed to assist in what has been described as an “extremely dangerous and extremely complex operation”. Further flights are expected with the prime minister confirming three additional aircraft had been relocated to assist with the mission as Western Australia prepares to welcome its first shipload of evacuees in the coming days. “The US and UK, through the military presence on the ground, continues to provide the security around the airfield that is enabling these operations to continue and we expect to continue them now throughout the course of this week and into next week,” Mr Morrison said. “But we are moving urgently, safely, because we’re taking nothing for granted. “The weather is closing in it and that is going to present some challenges over the next few days, but equally the situation can always turn, and so we are moving as quickly as we possibly can. “Now, I need to stress that the apron you have there cannot take too many planes at any one time so slots are being allotted to get on the ground and to unload and upload and get out. “There are many countries who are involved in these operations and so the windows are very narrow and we have to take the slots when we are there and move when we are able to do that.”