19 Thursday 2021
The Philippine Airlines (PAL) mandatory evacuation flight directly to Kabul chartered by the Philippine government failed to depart Tuesday night after after hordes of panicked Afghans wanting to escape the Talibans overran the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul Sunday, closing its airport from both commercial and military flights.
The chartered A330-300 flight from Manila via Dubai, would have flown remaining Filipino Overseas Workers (OFWs) back home Tuesday after the US security forces granted the Philippines emergency landing rights Sunday to repatriate its expats home, but chaos at the airport Monday prompted the Americans, who are controling air traffic in Kabul, to close the airport until runway and taxiways are cleared of people and other potential flight hazards. The US military suspended the airlifting for 72 hours to clear the airport ground of thousands of Afghans.
US security forces has managed to secure the airport Tuesday morning and re-opened it for traffic by noon time, with Turkish Airlines B777 leaving Kabul to Istanbul. Affected slots from Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were moved accordingly.
DFA assistant secretary Eduardo Meñez, on the repatriation delays, said on Tuesday, that they are facing very "challenging conditions" to get their citizens out, and has no clue on the rescheduled dates. He said they are coordinating with the US Embassy in Manila as to resumption of the aborted flight.
According to DFA personnel in Islamabad, who wishes not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, disclosed that aborted flight might be accommodated Thursday night at the earliest to Friday evening at the latest.
The DFA in Manila said the Philippine Embassy in Pakistan is in touch with all Filipinos in Afghanistan who have given their contact details, and advised everyone “to remain ready to move when opportunities to leave arise.”
22 OFWs from Afghanistan were airlifted together with British nationals to London by Royal Air Force plane for repatriation flight to Manila. They arrived Wednesday Morning at NAIA on board PR720. A separate repatriation flight for OFWs from Afghanistan were earlier airlifted Sunday via Doha in Qatar and Dubai.
ReplyDeleteAnother group of 31 Filipinos from Afghanistan arrived on Tuesday August 31 in Manila at the NAIA Terminal 1 on board Philippine Airlines chartered flight from Doha, Qatar.
ReplyDeleteThe Department of Foreign Affairs said that the evacuees joined the DFA chartered flight out of Doha, Qatar.
"The Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA)said the Filipinos who are mostly employees of various security firms based in Kabul. The group was initially flown from Kabul to Islamabad before taking their flight from Doha to Manila," the DFA said in a statement.
138 out of 188 Filipinos from Afghanistan have returned to the Philippines. 23 Filipinos registered with DFA remain in Afghanistan.