The A400M departed from Melsbroek in Belgium on Wednesday. Four Luxembourgish citizens, as well as two further residents from the Grand Duchy, are set to travel back from Kabul with the help of the plane. At the moment, it is not known if any Luxembourgish crew members are aboard.
Read also: Six Luxembourgers remain in Afghan capital
The Belgian forces have also sent two type C130 planes to Afghanistan, which will travel to Kabul via Islamabad. According to Belgian news outlet VTM, 80 people are aboard the plane.
At the moment, it is not possible for the A400M to land in Kabul. For one, the local airport is under control of US American forces, who are extremely restrictive with their flight permissions to keep an overview of the situation. Countries like Germany or Italy have therefore already begun setting up air bridges from Afghanistan's neighbouring countries. For another, landing a plane in a crisis zone demands certain administrative steps, the Ministry of Defence states.
If a plane is not equipped with a missile defence system and lacks a crew that is trained accordingly, it is too dangerous to land in a war or crisis zone.
