A British student who got a last-gasp flight out of Kabul described how he made it out of Afghanistan as the Taliban closed in
- Miles Routledge, 21, was on vacation in Kabul when the Taliban took over the city.
- He is now back in the UK after being evacuated by the British military on Tuesday.
- He told Insider how he made it out and shared some Afghans' view of the US troop pullout.
A 21-year-old student who was evacuated from Afghanistan by British soldiers has described how he made it out of Kabul after the Taliban takeover.
Miles Routledge landed in Kabul for a vacation on August 13 and planned to leave on August 19. But the Taliban seized the city on August 15 and all commercial flights were canceled, leaving him trapped.
Routledge, who is now quarantining at a hotel back in the UK, made it out of the country on a British military plane on Tuesday, and described to Insider on Wednesday how he made it out.
'I used my helmet and my baggage as a pillow'
Routledge said that as the Taliban rolled in to Kabul Sunday evening, his Afghan tour guide led him across town from his hotel to a UN safe house.
Routledge previously told The Times of London that the British embassy in Kabul wasn't answering his calls, and told Input magazine that he tried to visit multiple embassies, but they were all closed. He told Insider the Canadian embassy eventually helped him the most.
He said there were a number of foreign nationals at the safe house, and they were soon told to try and make it to Kabul airport - the only way out of the city.
"We were told to abandon the safe house, there was no way we'd get there without that as we were outnumbered by the Taliban," he said.
"They [the Taliban] promised us safe transport if we gave up the weapons, so we did and they escorted us out."
Routledge said the mood upon leaving the safe house was bizarre.
"It was weird, some people were taking selfies with them [Taliban fighters], shaking their hand and smiling," he said.
"The evacuation took ages and was very up in the air, we waited for a few hours on a dirt road for a car to pick us up, so I and many others just slept on the dirt/gravel. I used my helmet and my baggage as a pillow."
'Glad to be out'
When he made it to Kabul airport, and onto a British military plane, Routledge found that it was mainly full of aid and charity workers, military personnel, civil servants, and other foreigners.
"I didn't see any Afghan people on the plane," he said.
He also said the British soldiers escorting them seemed relieved: "Many were in good spirits like myself ... They were tired but glad to be out," he said.
Their plane departed Kabul airport and landed in Dubai on Tuesday, whereupon Routledge was put on a plane back to the UK. He is now quarantining at a hotel.
While Routledge made it out, hundreds of Afghans - including whose who worked with the US and UK - remain trapped. Hundreds rushed Kabul airport on Sunday, with video showing some latching onto a moving US Air Force plane. Other footage showed people who had clung to a plane falling from the sky moments later.
When reached for comment on Routledge, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office told Insider: "We are working hard to contact all the British nationals we are aware of who remain in Afghanistan, to help them leave the country."
As of Wednesday, the UK was still evacuating its nationals from Afghanistan. Vice Admiral Sir Ben Key, who is in charge of the evacuations, told the BBC on Tuesday it was "operating at full pace" and that around 300 citizens had been taken to safety.
'They felt like they had been abandoned'
Routledge told Insider that the Afghans he met in Kabul varied in their reaction to the Taliban's arrival.
"Most Afghan people fell into three categories: One, didn't care and sunbathed whilst a war was waged. Two, shocked at how quickly things fell and knew their life was in danger. Three, glad because they believed the Taliban was good," he said.
Routledge said many Afghans he spoke with blamed the US military pullout for the rise of the Taliban.
"Many I asked were saddened at the sudden pullout, they felt like they had been abandoned by the pullout, many of them discussed with me how it should have been done slowly over time," he said.
'I saw several famous YouTubers post their trips there'
As for why he chose to visit Afghanistan in the first place, Routledge said it was a final hurrah before graduating university.
"I know I won't have ten days free until I'm 40 or maybe retirement age so this was my last change to visit somewhere I feel like is misunderstood," he said.
"I saw several famous YouTubers post their trips there, they showed the cheap amazing food, the nature, the people and how safe it is."
"Plus every intelligence agency said it would be 30-plus days until Kabul fell," he said. "I thought it was in my risk tolerance."