As the pressure to evacuate people from Kabul airport grows, the US military has released updated figures for one of its flights. It reports that a C-17 Globemaster aircraft evacuated 823 Afghan citizens on August 15th. This is a new record for the type – by a long way – and gives some idea of the scale of the operation underway.

In a Twitter post on August 20th, US Air Mobility Command released confirmed and updated figures for one of its many evacuation flights from Kabul. We recently reported that a new record was set for a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft when it carried 640 Afghan citizens out of Hamid Karzai International Airport. This has now been increased to a massive 823.

Air Mobility Command
@AirMobilityCmd
CORRECTION: A @usairforce C-17 Globemaster III safely transported 823 Afghan citizens from Hamid Karzai International Airport Aug. 15, 2021. This is a record for this aircraft.

The initial count of 640 inadvertently included only adults. 183 children were also aboard. //

It is also not the first time this has happened. While it is a record for the C-17, it is not a record overall. In 1991, over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews were evacuated from Ethiopia to Israel as part of Operation Solomon. This involved Boeing 707, Boeing 747, and Hercules C-130 aircraft. One El Al Boeing 747 aircraft is recorded as transporting 1,080 people (estimates vary, but even lower estimates are a record).