- What countries are already avoiding Afghan airspace
- Outlining Afghan airspace and how low planes are allowed to fly over safely
The Taliban has overthrown the Afghan government and taken control of the country after seizing the Afghan capital, Kabul. Afghanistan airspace is now closed for commercial flights and overflying traffic is being told to reroute around the country. Prior to the Taliban takeover, several countries already had existing airspace warnings in place – the US, UK, France and Canada advised that overflights should not be below FL250/260, with Germany advising FL330. France has since updated its warning and are now advising operators avoid Afghan airspace entirely. The current conflict has led to zero ATC Control across the entire airspace and an extreme threat to aircraft and crew safety as well as security if an emergency landing were needed. US commercial carriers have now been completely banned from operating within Afghanistan’s airspace, in a further tightening of restrictions following the deterioration of the country’s political stability. Only military aircrafts that are evacuating citizens are allowed to land at Kabul airport.
