There have been a number of incidents involving commercial airlines flying over politically volatile countries in recent years. Nearly 300 people were killed when a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over the Ukraine in 2014, and close to 200 others died when a Ukraine International Airlines flight was shot down by Iran’s military in 2021. In addition, a jet was forced to divert over Belarus and land, and a political dissident was taken off the plane into custody just last year.
Following the harrowing images of the Taliban retaking Kabul and chaos at airports as the U.S. military evacuates this week, no one’s taking any chances.
Reuters reports that airlines have been told to avoid the airspace over Afghanistan via a notice to pilots on the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA) web site.
"Kabul airspace has been released to the military. Advise transit aircraft to reroute," the notice said.
It added that any transit through Kabul airspace - which encompasses the entire country - would be without guidance from air control on the ground.
According to the report, some flights diverted mid-flight, including one from Chicago to Delhi.
Analysts say routes between Europe and Asia will be among the most affected, adding to difficulties routing around Middle East conflict zones and Belarus.
In JUL, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration had already imposed flight restrictions for American commercial airlines overflying Afghanistan, prohibiting flights under 26,000 feet.
Other countries, including Canada, the U.K., Germany and France, “had also advised airlines to maintain an altitude of at least 25,000 feet over Afghanistan,” according to website Safe Airspace.
When Western countries scrambled to evacuate their citizens this past weekend, some airlines ceased transiting Afghani airspace altogether before any notice was issued. They included United Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. Others, including Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, Air France KLM and Lufthansa also began diverting around the country on Monday, with Air France giving notice that routes to Bangkok, Delhi, Singapore, Mumbai and other destinations would be affected. Lufthansa also said its flight times to India and other destinations would be increased by up to an hour due to the diversion. The airline also noted it would incur additional fuel costs.
