Low-cost carrier flydubai is first international airline to resume Kabul flights since 2021
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Low-cost carrier flydubai will begin twice-daily flights to Kabul on Nov 15.
PHOTO: FLYDUBAI/FACEBOOK
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DUBAI – Low-cost carrier flydubai announced flights to Kabul on Thursday, becoming the first international airline to resume services since a chaotic withdrawal by US forces from Afghanistan in 2021.
Twice-daily flights will begin on Nov 15, the Dubai-based airline said.
The Taliban swiftly returned to power after the hasty US evacuation.
A statement on the carrier’s website said “flydubai... announced today the resumption of flights to Kabul International Airport”.
An airlift of more than 120,000 people from the Kabul airport marked the end of a 20-year occupation by United States forces following the Sept 11, 2001, attacks.
A suicide bombing on the airport’s perimeter,
The full operation of Kabul’s airport – which was trashed during the mass evacuation of civilians – is seen as crucial to reviving the country’s shattered economy.
Afghanistan’s Kam Air and Ariana Afghan Airlines now operate limited services from Kabul to various destinations, including Dubai, Moscow, Islamabad and Istanbul.
In 2022, a United Arab Emirates company, GAAC, signed a contract to manage Afghanistan’s air traffic, an agreement that was expected to bring back international airlines.
GAAC, based in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, also has contracts to provide ground handling services and security screening at Afghanistan’s three airports.
The Afghan consulate in Dubai said on its Facebook page that flydubai will be the first international carrier to operate Kabul flights in two years.
Its return “will be the beginning of the resumption of flights for other international airlines”, the consulate added. AFP
