Kabul Evacuation: ‘Planes Never Leave Empty’ Says UK Defence Minister

British citizens and dual nationals residing in Afghanistan board a military plane for evacuation from Kabul airport, Afghanistan, on Aug. 16, 2021. LPhot Ben Shread/UK MOD Crown copyright 2021/Handout via Reuters

British military planes never leave Kabul empty, according to the British defence minister, in response to reports of some flights leaving without any evacuees on board.

The UK was “absolutely ploughing through the numbers,” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the BBC on Aug. 19, following stories of Taliban checkpoints at the airport hampering the movement of Afghans and expats to the planes.