Fifty Dutch people evacuated from Kabul; one Dutch aircraft grounded

Thirty-five Dutch people were evacuated from the Afghan capital of Kabul arrived at Schiphol airport on Wednesday night.

The group was taken by a C-17 military transport aircraft via Georgia, with a number of other Europeans.

Their flight brings the total of Dutch evacuees to around 50, according to the foreign affairs ministry. NOS reports that the defence ministry wants to organise around three flights a day, and the American Federal Aviation Administration – which is controlling the airport via 6,000 American troops – now says that commercial airlines can start using the airfield again.

In the past days there have been reports of chaos, including gunfire and tear gas, as the airfield was overrun with people trying to flee the nation after the Taliban takeover earlier this week. On Thursday afternoon, the defence ministry also said that one Dutch evacuation plane has been grounded with a technical fault.

1 van de 2 C-130 transportvliegtuigen in de regio Afghanistan heeft een technisch defect. Er wordt hard gewerkt aan een oplossing. Ook maken we zoveel als mogelijk gebruik van andere opties zoals vluchten van partnerlanden om mensen op te halen uit Kabul.

— Ministerie van Defensie (@Defensie) August 19, 2021

Although the Taliban has said it will let foreigners leave safely, it is unclear what the situation is for Afghan people who have helped foreign nations as translators, aid and consular staff, for instance.

Caretaker foreign minister Sigrid Kaag told an emergency parliamentary sitting on Wednesday: ‘We do not want to leave behind any people who will be endangered because they have worked for the Netherlands.’

However some have reported that they are afraid to try to reach the airport for fear of being arrested at Taliban checkpoints.

After the Netherlands took a hardline approach within Europe about not deporting Afghan nationals who do not qualify for asylum just over a week ago, it is still unclear if evacuated former staff would indeed be offered asylum here.