Since You Asked - An Afghan Summary:
The actual flying time from Kabul to Rawalpindi is 33 minutes at just over 500 mph. Time on the ground at Kabul is 1 hour plus and at Rawalpindi about 30 minutes after landing and refuelling, depending on . Buying your own fuel truck speeds things up considerably at the Islamabad end. Graft and corruption are standard and we bare that expense. With a little coordination on the ground we can do the load up, flight, from Kabul into Rawalpindi in under an hour. We were in need of refueling every 4th trip. Giving the clearances that we had gotten (purchased...)we were able to rescue a grand total of 700 folks. For us the priority was missionaries and families, secondarily some military and business types. Last were some civilians who would definitely be killed for having been suppliers to Americans or co-operaters with any expat agencies.
Our 4 pilots went through 7 days of pure hell and 2 are in hospital with injuries inflicted by the Taliban. Costs for the missions total just over $700,000 with $200,000 being pure bribes. Medical costs, paid leaves and bonuses for our employees on the plane and on the ground included. Fuel costs for Jet A rose steadily from day one to 5 times the normal price by Day 7. Our plane is like the Volkswagen Rabbit Diesel of jet aircraft, extremely fuel efficient with a top speed of over 500 mph. The easy math here shows that the per passenger costs were $1,000.
The big plane efforts are certainly getting the attention, but I want to thank your for your prayers for our safety and success. The plane operated flawlessly without damage (no bullet holes) and our pilots never flinched from stepping up and putting their lives in danger. Our thanks will never be enough for what they have done. Our ground crews were put together on the fly (pun intended) and proved once again to be Gods appointed. We could not have chosen a braver more dedicated group (all muslims), any who chose to leave were on our last flight out with their families.
Our praise to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is heartfelt for His preparations and foretelling of what we would need and the success and safety for our people. Amen.
- Dr. Jim Garrow -
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