KABUL (Agencies): The change of government in Afghanistan has impacted global air traffic, including Russian airlines. Aeroflot will fly to India and Thailand bypassing the country, and the cargo AirBridgeCargo, which delivered cargo to the Middle East through Afghanistan, also announced the search for alternative routes. Experts believe that the route change will have little effect on the flight time, and the additional costs of theEmergency route changes can mean serious discomfort for carriers, says Oleg Panteleev, head of the Aviaport agency. “Airlines will have to re-apply for flights, re-issue permits, but it cannot be said that this is an impossible task – both we and international carriers have such experience in re-routing,” he says.
Now flights will pass through Tajikistan closer to the Chinese border, the expert believes, and the changes will not have a radical impact on the duration of the flight.
According to the shortest trajectory, the duration of the Moscow-Delhi flight was estimated at 4.36 thousand km, the overflight will lengthen the route by 200 km, or 10-15 minutes of flight time, Mr. Panteleev believes. “It can be assumed that the loss in money will be measured in several thousand dollars per flight – this is the additional cost of fuel, staff costs and longer use of the aircraft,” he added.
Reuters reported on August 16 that the Afghan Civil Aviation Authority is advising transit aircraft to bypass Kabul airspace. After that, according to FlightRadar24, an Air India plane heading from Chicago to New Delhi changed its route immediately after entering Afghan airspace. At the time of publication, the only plane of the Turkish Air Force was in the skies over Afghanistan, heading from Kayseri to Kabul. airlines will amount to several thousand dollars for the flight.
Russian carriers began to adjust routes against the backdrop of the arrival of the Taliban (the Taliban movement is prohibited in the Russian Federation – Kommersant ) to power in Afghanistan. According to Kommersant’s information, two Russian airlines flew over the country: Aeroflot and the cargo carrier AirBridgeCargo, which is part of the Volga-Dnepr Group of Companies.
Aeroflot representative Mikhail Demin confirmed to Kommersant that the changes will affect two flights from Moscow – to Delhi and Bangkok. Due to the pandemic, India only accepts diplomats and certain categories of citizens, while Thailand is open to tourists.
Indeed, temporarily, until the situation normalizes, Aeroflot aircraft will fly over the airspace of Afghanistan. In fact, the restrictions apply to two flights: Delhi and Bangkok. And our decision is consistent with the position of the regulator, ”explained Mr. Demin.
The Federal Air Transport Agency and the Ministry of Transport did not comment. Officially, the service did not issue recommendations on Afghanistan.
AirBridgeCargo will change routes for the Middle East. “At the moment, we are studying the situation, and the company is considering all options to ensure the maximum safety of its personnel and the safety of cargo,” Marina Isaykina, press secretary of Volga-Dnepr, told Kommersant.
According to FlightRadar24, Utair UT9051 flight from Vnukovo to Kabul airport was scheduled for August 14. There is no data on the flight status on the service – the airline did not comment on this information.
Sources of Kommersant in the aviation industry say that the company was planning an export flight for UN employees from Kabul, which in the end was not carried out.
The first airlines to cancel flights over Afghanistan were British Airways and German Lufthansa (“until further notice”). Dutch carrier KLM has warned passengers flying to Bangkok and Singapore that the flight will take longer.
Emergency route changes can mean serious discomfort for carriers, says Oleg Panteleev, head of the Aviaport agency. “Airlines will have to re-apply for flights, re-issue permits, but it cannot be said that this is an impossible task – both we and international carriers have such experience in re-routing,” he says.
Now flights will pass through Tajikistan closer to the Chinese border, the expert believes, and the changes will not have a radical impact on the duration of the flight.
According to the shortest trajectory, the duration of the Moscow-Delhi flight was estimated at 4.36 thousand km, the overflight will lengthen the route by 200 km, or 10-15 minutes of flight time, Mr. Panteleev believes. “It can be assumed that the loss in money will be measured in several thousand dollars per flight – this is the additional cost of fuel, staff costs and longer use of the aircraft,” he added.
Reuters reported on August 16 that the Afghan Civil Aviation Authority is advising transit aircraft to bypass Kabul airspace. After that, according to FlightRadar24, an Air India plane heading from Chicago to New Delhi changed its route immediately after entering Afghan airspace. At the time of publication, the only plane of the Turkish Air Force was in the skies over Afghanistan, heading from Kayseri to Kabul.
