• The RSAF A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) transferred Afghanistan evacuees currently relocated in Qatar to Germany
• This was after Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, was taken over by the Taliban last month
• The journey is similar to a commercial flight, shared one crew member, unlike viral photos seen online of evacuees crammed shoulder-to-shoulder
• Crew had to do back-to-back flights with tight turnaround times, as well as contend with the language barrier  

SINGAPORE — It was a memorable and inspiring mission for Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) personnel who took part in the historic evacuation of people from Afghanistan in recent weeks.

Speaking to media in a virtual interview on Saturday (Sept 11), three of these personnel said they were struck by the joy of the Afghan evacuees they met and inspired by their strength and hope. 

The RSAF team was based in Qatar for the mission, and helped to evacuate more than 2,000 Afghans to Germany from there, after Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, was taken over by the Taliban last month. 

A total of 77 personnel were deployed on this mission, comprising pilots, aircrew, engineers and army security forces, departing from Singapore on Aug 26.

The RSAF A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) made 10 return trips between Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and Ramstein Air Base in southwestern Germany, before the crew returned to Singapore on Friday, landing at Changi Air Base (East). 

The personnel who spoke to the media could not reveal their real names and ranks due to the confidentiality of the mission. 

One of the personnel who spoke to the media, an RSAF air crew specialist named “Alice”, said her role was to ensure the welfare of the passengers. 

Among the evacuees was a lady who had just given birth via Caesarean section five days prior to the flight and needed special care during the seven-hour flight, Alice recalled. 

“Also, the mother was having pain in her tummy area (so) it was quite difficult for her to climb up the steps (onto the plane),” said Alice. “So we extended our help to assist her up the flight.” 

“I felt satisfied because I knew every passenger we ferry, we are transporting them to a safe place to have a new start in life.” 

Another personnel, “Bryan”, who had gone on five of the 10 missions as a detachment commander and transport pilot, said that he had to ensure the safety of the flight operation, both in terms of security and Covid-19 regulations.

He said that the crew was activated on a short 48-hour notice and had to complete back to back missions with tight turnaround times. 

There was one mission where he and the crew had to work for 32 hours, flying from Germany to Qatar to pick up evacuees and send them to Germany, before flying back to Qatar again. 

He added that the language barrier was another challenge, as the crew did not speak either Pashto and Dari, the two official languages of Afghanistan. 

As a solution, he said the crew broadcast pre-recorded inflight safety and security instructions to the Afghans in their native languages. 

“We also identified English-speaking Afghan passengers to act as our translators to breach the language barrier,” he said. 

The third personnel in the interview, “Gideon”, was the commander of the security team and ensured the safety of the crew and evacuees. 

He said that the embarkation process was similar to that of a commercial aircraft, with baggage checks and security screenings, but the journey itself was different from that of a typical commercial flight. 

“We do not know what the demographic of the passengers are until we see them at the holding area,” he said. “So that is where we need some form of security on board the flight so the entire flight from Qatar to Germany is safe.” 

There were no security incidents on any of the missions, Gideon said. 

Recent viral photos of evacuees leaving Afghanistan show scenes of aircraft passengers being crammed shoulder-to-shoulder, but Bryan said this was not the case on the RSAF flights — each passenger was given their own seat.

“It’s just like a commercial jet where they get proper seats, and their safety is being taken care of,” he said.  

Despite the smooth-sailing mission, Bryan noted that the team heard several harrowing stories from the evacuees. 

He shared one such story from a fellow RSAF personnel on the mission, who met an evacuee who had waited at the airport at Kabul for three days before she was allowed to board a plane out of Afghanistan. 

On top of that, she had to make a decision to leave most of her belongings and family members behind. 

“She had to make the hard decision to leave, because she knew that it would be a lot worse staying behind in Afghanistan,” he said. 

“After hearing this story, it really underscores the meaningfulness of this mission, and the impact it has left in their lives.”