Airlines consider Afghanistan safer than the dangerous airspace between Iran and Israel
Dr. Akhtar Gulfam, Director News, Dawn TV + Editor-in-chief Daily Dawn
LONDON: Singapore Airlines, British Airways, and Lufthansa have started using Afghan airspace for flights after years of avoiding it as the Middle East conflict has made the country a relatively safe option.
Afghanistan lies on air routes between Asia and Europe, but carriers largely stopped serving Afghanistan three years ago when the Taliban took power and air traffic control services were shut down.
Traffic has not yet resumed, but airlines consider Afghanistan safer than the dangerous airspace between Iran and Israel. When the Ukraine war broke out in 2022, many airlines began using routes to Iran and the Middle East when Russian airspace was closed to most Western carriers.
