Air Europa flying Afghans from Dubai

One of the Air Europa flights having landed in Madrid. | Pool

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma24/08/2021 08:26
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In coordination with Spain's ministry of defence, Llucmajor-based airline Air Europa has scheduled ten flights from Dubai, bringing over 2,000 Afghans, Spanish personnel and troops to the Torrejón de Ardoz military airport in Madrid.

The first of these flights was on August 20. At present, the last scheduled flight will be on August 28. The airline is using part of its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The final six flights will have capacity for almost 300 passengers.

Air Europa has a 15-year contract with the ministry for logistical and strategic flights. The Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Teodoro López Calderón, said on Monday that there are no more flight authorisations between Kabul and Dubai due to traffic saturation as there is only one runway, but that an attempt is being made to increase flights from Dubai.

The airline explains that it has a specific operations department working 24 hours a day on the flights from Dubai. Cooperation with the ministry is "maximum", as is the willingness of crews to fly when service is required.

Flight time from Dubai is around eight hours. The defence ministry has arranged provisions for the flights - picnic sets of sandwiches, nuts and water.