First Merz Government Deportation Flight to Kabul Takes Off

Leipzig - At 8:35 AM, the first deportation flight to Afghanistan organized by the Merz administration departed from Leipzig Airport. The Airbus A330-200, operated by Qatar Airways, began its taxi to the runway shortly after 8:25 AM. According to sources, the flight is carrying Afghan nationals who have been convicted of crimes, having been transported from various German federal states to Leipzig. The destination of this charter flight is Kabul.

This operation, organized by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, was kept under wraps to mitigate the risk of protests from opponents of the controversial deportations to Afghanistan, which could have disrupted the departure at Leipzig Airport. A significant police presence was deployed to ensure the operation's security.

Only male offenders were included in this deportation flight. Among the deportees are three convicted individuals who had been held in detention in Dresden, having been sentenced for theft, drug dealing, and bodily harm. The remaining passengers originated from detention centers in locations such as Pforzheim, Büren, and Ingelheim.

The deportation has faced strong opposition from asylum activists. The Saxon Refugee Council has vocally condemned the decision to send individuals back to Afghanistan. They argue that engaging with the Taliban strengthens a regime that severely restricts women's rights and creates new causes for migration, exacerbating an already precarious situation in the country. Activists warn of a repeat of previous deportations, which began by targeting only criminals but later expanded to include all rejected Afghan asylum seekers, raising fears of sending them back to a war-torn environment.

As of June 30, 2025, the Central Register of Foreign Nationals reported that there were 11,172 Afghan nationals in Germany who were required to leave the country, of which 9,462 had temporary protection or toleration.

The deportations had been paused for nearly three years following the Taliban takeover in August 2021, which halted returns to Kabul due to the regime's radical Islamist policies. However, in mid-2024, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser reversed this policy amid significant pressure from opposition parties. A special flight arranged by Qatar successfully returned 28 offenders and individuals considered security threats back to Afghanistan.