Several airline companies have been prompted to hasten its route switching after Monday’s notice to airmen the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA) posted on its website, informing that Kabul airspace had been released to the military and giving advice for transit aircraft rerouting, Reuters reports.
ACAA also said the civilian side of Hamid Karzai International Airport or Kabul airport is closed until further notice and warned that any transit through Kabul airspace would be uncontrolled with Kabul’s flight information region covering all of Afghanistan.
In the wake of Taliban militants taking control of the presidential palace in Kabul following the US troops withdrawal, United Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic had stopped using Afghanistan airspace while the sudden closure of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Monday threw into disarray schedules for the few remaining airlines operating flights to Afghanistan while Western countries are attempting to finish evacuation of its citizens from the country.
According to flight tracking website FlightRadar24 info, Terra Avia flight from Baku to Delhi changed course and an Air India flight from Chicago to Delhi was rerouted with flight to Kabul cancelled until further notice.
The airport closure came after the evacuation efforts for the American diplomats, officials and citizens was secured by thousands of US troops who took over Kabul airport and reportedly fired in the air after thousands of Afghans walked on to the tarmac seeking to flee the country.
Since the Taliban have taken over all the important land border crossings with neighbouring countries, Kabul airport is currently the only way out of the country with Air India, Emirates, FlyDubai, Pakistan International Airlines and Turkish Airlines among the few airlines currently operating flights to Kabul.
According to Safe Airspace website, which tracks such warnings, flight restrictions over Afghanistan for US airlines were imposed by the US Federal Aviation Administration in July due to the risk posed by the extremist activity with flights operating below 26,000 feet being prohibited in the Kabul Flight Information Region, apart the US military operations.
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