Following the Taliban militant group which entered the city on Sunday and took control of the presidential palace in Kabul as US-led forces departed and Western nations scrambled to evacuate their citizens, major airlines are rerouting flights to avoid Afghanistan airspace.
Some of the airlines which confirmed that they were not operating via the country’s airspace include United Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
On its website, Emirates also communicated that it has suspended flights to Afghanistan’s capital Kabul until further the notice.
“Customers holding tickets with final destination to Kabul will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin,” reads Emirates’ website post.
Fellow Dubai state-owned carrier Flydubai earlier has also suspended flights to Kabul.
According to CNA, a United spokeswoman said the change affects several of the airline’s US to India flights explaining that commercial flights set to land in Afghanistan have also been affected by the chaos on the ground.
Few commercial flights have been shown by Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 to have flown over Afghanistan at 3am GMT on Monday but many planes overflying neighbouring Pakistan and Iran.
The website, which tracks flights in real time, also showed Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight SQ 319 from London to Singapore avoiding Afghan airspace.
CNA further reported that airlines and governments have paid more attention to the risks of flying over conflict zones in recent years after two deadly incidents involving surface-to-air missiles.
The US Federal Aviation Administration in July imposed new flight restrictions over Afghanistan for US airlines and other US operators.
The FAA, CNA reported, said flights operating below 26,000 feet were prohibited in the Kabul Flight Information Region, which largely covers Afghanistan, unless operating in and out of Hamid Karzai International Airport, citing the risk “posed by extremist/militant activity”.
The restrictions do not apply to U.S. military operations.
Other countries, including Canada, Britain, Germany and France had also advised airlines to maintain an altitude of at least 25,000 feet over Afghanistan, according to website Safe Airspace, which tracks such warnings.
Korean Air Lines said some of its cargo flights were using Afghanistan airspace, though its passenger flights were not.
Spokesperson for Korean Air Lines highlighted that due to the situation in Afghanistan, it was forced to fly its cargo flights at higher altitudes and avoiding flying at lower altitudes as they continue to closely monitor the situation and plan to review shifting the routes if necessary.
As for Taiwan China Airlines, sources revealed that it was keeping an eye on the situation and would adjust flight paths if needed in accordance with US and European Union airspace instructions.
In 2014, a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine killing all 298 people on board, and an Ukraine International Airlines jet was downed by Iran’s military in 2020, killing all 176 passengers and crew.
By Joyce Mukucha
