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An Airbus A400M transport aircraft of the Luftwaffe takes off from Wunstorf Air Base
Photo: Moritz Frankenberg / dpa
The Bundeswehr's first military aircraft for the evacuation mission in Afghanistan has dropped paratroopers, picked up passengers - and is on its return flight to Tashkent in Uzbekistan.
At 10:42 p.m., after just 40 minutes on the ground, the plane left the airport in Kabul.
"With those to be protected, the machine is now on its way to Tashkent / Uzbekistan," said the Ministry of Defense on Twitter.
According to an initial internal Bundeswehr report, there were some protection personnel on board, but apparently only a handful.
Because the landing of the A400M was uncertain until the end, the Germans remaining in Kabul could not be informed in time.
The machine had previously circled over the airport for five hours, which was temporarily closed due to chaotic conditions on the tarmac.
The gasoline would not have lasted much longer, they said.
Another Bundeswehr transport aircraft had previously had to break off the approach to Kabul and fly to Tashkent to refuel.
The two aircraft are intended to bring German citizens and Afghan local staff who used to work or are still working for the Bundeswehr or federal ministries to Uzbekistan.
From the Tashkent hub there, charter planes will then continue to Germany.
The two A400Ms started on Monday morning from Wunstorf in Lower Saxony towards Kabul and landed in Baku in Azerbaijan.
A third German A400M, which is equipped for medical transport, and an Airbus A310 MRTT also took off from Wunstorf to Tashkent on Monday.
The paratroopers of the Rapid Forces Division, who have now been deposed in Kabul, are to help US soldiers restore order at the airport in Kabul and enable the evacuation to proceed safely.
After the takeover of Kabul by the militant Islamist Taliban, dramatic scenes had taken place at the airport on Monday.
Desperate people tried to get in and on planes, as shown by videos and pictures on social media.
People ran onto the tarmac, climbed, among other things, over turntable ladders to get on an airplane.
As a result, air traffic was temporarily suspended.
In the meantime, the airport has resumed operations, said US General Hank Taylor in the US Department of Defense.
aar / dpa