The extent of the back-up required to ensure a successful mission included: two TriStar aircraft from 216 Squadron, RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, which flew a total of 89 hrs and involved 26 ...
Over a period of 8 years, 216 Squadron has flown to Afghanistan 1,642 times, carrying 250,000 passengers each way and travelling a total distance equivalent to flying around the world 640 times.