C-17 military planes flying into Afghanistan reconfigured to maximize amount of passengers

Defence Department spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande says the C-17 military transport planes flying into Afghanistan have been reconfigured to maximize the number of passengers they can carry.

She says the planes are already flying in and out of Kabul and that troops will be given a list of vetted and vulnerable Afghans and will be helping them board the flights.

Lamirande says the flights will carry foreign and Afghan nationals who have been accepted under the immigration programs of other nations.

And she adds that other nations have, and will continue to, extract Canadian citizens or Afghans who are destined for or eligible for immigration to Canada.

The effort to get former Afghan interpreters and their families out of Afghanistan is gathering momentum in the face of complaints about roadblocks in Kabul and bureaucratic hurdles in Ottawa.

Yesterday, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau revealed the Canadian military had arrived back in Afghanistan to help with evacuation efforts.

At the same time, he admitted Canada would probably not be able to get everyone out of Afghanistan that it wants to.