Friday, March 29, 2024

Pakistan allows Afghan airline to operate Islamabad-Kabul flights

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Pakistan has allowed an Afghan airline to operate its flights from Islamabad to Kabul, a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) official said on Sunday.

Kam Air – Afghanistan's largest private airline – will operate three flights a week, becoming the first Afghan airline to operate outside Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, Irfan Sabir, director of CAA Air Transport, told Anadolu Agency.

The permission, he said, has been granted on the request of Kam Air, which, until now, is the only Afghan airline to apply for the flight permit.

Initially, he said, that the airline might only operate chartered flights from Islamabad to Kabul due to limited passengers. In the coming days, he added, it might start commercial flights.

Flight operations in Afghanistan came to a halt after the Taliban takeover of Kabul on Aug 15. The domestic flights were resumed on Sept 5.

Founded in 2003, according to the airline's official website, it has seven aircraft and a workforce of over 1,200 people.

Also read: Taliban urge international airlines to resume Afghan flights

Apart from within Afghanistan, the airline would operate to and from several international destinations, including Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East, before the Taliban takeover.

Pakistan's state-run Pakistan International Airlines was the first airline to operate the first international flight to Afghanistan on Sept 13, after the Taliban takeover.

Earlier in the day, the Taliban urged international airlines to resume flights to Kabul, saying all technical issues at the country's main airport have been resolved.

Facilities at Kabul airport were badly damaged in the chaotic evacuation of more than 120,000 people that ended August 30 with the withdrawal of the last US troops.

Since then only charter flights have been operating, although Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Iran's Mahan Air and Afghanistan's Kam Air have run a limited number of special flights.

At present airlines such as PIA and Kam Air are charging more than $1,200 for a one-way, 40-minute flight from Kabul to Islamabad.

(With input from AFP)


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