A military evacuation aircraft left Prague for Afghanistan on Wednesday night. According to the data from the air radar, the plane landed in Baku, Azerbaijan, after less than four hours of flight, from where it left for Afghanistan in the morning. In the previous two days, evacuation specials had transported 133 people to the Czech Republic.
The last evacuation vehicle of the Czech army landed in Prague-Kbely on Tuesday evening. There were 87 passengers on board. Among them were Czechs, Afghans, and two Poles. On Monday, the first plane landed in the Czech Republic, bringing 46 people.
“Another plane landed safely in Prague last night. There was chaos and confusion in Kabul, but we managed to sit down and fly safely with the people. We are already on our way back for more, “the Czech army reported on Twitter.
Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhánek (ČSSD) on Tuesday evening described conditions in Kabul as highly intense. “Because of the presence of the Taliban at the airport, it was extremely complicated to get all those singled out to the airport and also on board the plane, ” Kulhánek said after the arrival of the second evacuation to Prague.
The evacuated Afghans will face ten days of quarantine in the Czech Republic. “During that time, we will deal with their residence permits,” Interior Minister Jan Hamáček (ČSSD) said on Tuesday. This will be followed by individual talks with the evacuees about their future.
“They have to tell themselves what they want,” Hamáček said. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) said they might choose to go to their families in France or elsewhere in Europe. The prime minister said the Afghans will get visas and will also be vaccinated during the quarantine. They will all be accommodated in one place for the first few days, but, like Hamáček, he would not specify where that would be.
The Czech Foreign Ministry’s crisis staff will discuss the next steps in the evacuation on Wednesday. It should also deal with the fate of the evacuated Afghans.