- What happened in Afghanistan and what airlines are dong about it
- What the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority is permitting airlines to do
Major airlines are worried about flying over the conflict zone of Afghanistan because of the recent events. The Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA) has said that Kabul airspace has been released to the military and that it advised aircraft to reroute away from the area. Airways such as United Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have stopped flying into Afghanistan airspace after the Taliban took control of the Presidential Palace in Kabul, and US-led forces are evacuating the Afghanistan citizens. The ACAA is permitting anyone that needs to enter Kabul airspace to please reroute the airspace. 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 when a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down, killing almost 300 people.
“Due to the situation in Afghanistan, we are flying our cargo flights at higher altitudes,” a spokesperson said. “We are closely monitoring the situation and we plan to review shifting our routes if necessary.” Commercial flights set to land in Afghanistan have also been affected by the chaos on the ground. Emirates has postponed or cancelled all flights to Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, until further notice, Emirates said on its website.
