@Extremely Fluffy Fluffy Thing posted:I thought the deadline for getting out of Afghanistan was the 31st August......so why is the FINAL FLIGHT apparently leaving today, the 28th? And what happened to the earlier statement that the evacuation would go on to the LAST MINUTE?
The airfield is run by the Americans, so I would presume they're limited in what "slots" are available to them as the US starts to dismantle facilities. Also; the MOD said yesterday that the UK's ability to process any more evacuations was "extremely reduced and additional numbers will be limited" - I don't think they explicitly connected that to the terrorist attack, but it does seem likely.
As for previous statements: all I'll say is that one of my biggest peeves of the last decade or so has been politicians making promises that it's not actually within their power to guarantee delivery on - i.e. they're entirely dependent on others playing ball, and the whole "promise" is merely an act of faith...