Soon after, the Tristar's lights were dimmed, then switched off. Window blinds were drawn. We were sitting in darkness, with no-one uttering a word.

I tried not to fear the worst. With 13 British deaths, June had been the second bloodiest month since the American-led invasion of Afghanistan six-and-a-half years ago.

There have been no reported British deaths in July, but the month has brought two high-profile incidents.

Read more of Jonny's reports from Kandahar:
Our Man in Afghanistan - peterboroughtoday.co.uk/kandahar
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First, nine British soldiers were injured by "friendly fire" when an Army Air Corps Apache helicopter targeted the troops by mistake on July 9.

Then, on Sunday, nine US soldiers were killed and 15 injured in a skirmish with Taliban insurgents in the border province of Kunar.

Grasping for thoughts that weren't of the Taliban or rockets, or more specifically Taliban firing rockets, I reminded myself of the tens of thousands of flights, some of them carrying princes, pop stars and politicians, that had landed unscathed before us.

After 10 minutes of gentle banking and not knowing if the Tristar was 1,000 metres above the ground or 10 metres, there was a thud, followed by the reassuring sound of rubber on runway and sudden breaking. I had arrived in Kandahar.

Among the passengers were nine men from 3 Squadron RAF Regiment, based at RAF Wittering, near Peterborough.

Deployed in mid-February as part of a 159-strong group, the men were returning to what the Armed Forces call "theatre" after a fortnight – although three of those days were spent travelling – of rest and relaxation.

All members of the Armed Services are entitled to rest and relaxation, and depending on the luck of the draw, it could be at the start, middle or end of an individual's deployment.

We arrived in Afghanistan 11 hours after setting off from RAF Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire, stopping only for a one-and-a-half hour pause in Akrotiri airport, Cyprus, so the aircraft could be re-fuelled.

Here we disembarked into midday Mediterranean heat and traipsed into the airport's small terminal, where time was passed eating sweets, texting girlfriends for the final time before mobile phones were switched off in Afghanistan and skim reading the previous day's newspapers.

Senior Aircraftman (SAC) Aaron Myles (22), who split his rest and relaxation period between his family's home in Northern Ireland and his sister Simone's Stanground home, in Peterborough, showed a group of us a two-minute mobile phone video clip taken in city nightclub Liquid in the hours shortly before leaving Brize Norton.

It was a stark reminder of home, of loved ones and nights out, and although memories were still fresh, the men said they were keen to return to action, to "finish the job" as they put it.

Flight Sergeant Gerry McCullough (47), the squadron's senior engineer who is on his last deployment prior to retirement from the RAF next year, said: "It was a case of seeing the family, doing normal things for a while, then saying goodbye.