Airlines to be fined for flight delays, says ACAA

Monitoring Desk

KABUL: The Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA) says airlines will be fined for delayed flights under a draft rule.

The draft would be placed soon before the Council of Ministers for approval, the ACAA chief told a media briefing in Kabul.

Mahmud Shah Habibi also announced a 34 percent increase in ACAA income, saying flight regulations were being toughened.

Unveiling the annual report of the authority, he recalled: “The the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority income in 2016 was four billion and 364 million afghanis.”

But the revenue for the current year (2017), which has not ended yet, are at five billion and 835 million afs, up by 34 percent.

He linked the revenue hike to the handing over of Afghanistan’s airspace control to Afghan institutions. Previously, Afghanistan’s airspace was controlled by NATO forces.

“Two years earlier, Afghan airspace was controlled by NATO. Every foreign flight passing through Afghanistan was charged $500.

“But currently the charges have been increased to $700 per flight and the number of flights has also risen,” the official told reporters.

The ACAA head added 27 planes were active in the country. About 90 percent of their control has been handed over to Afghans, with local staff having been trained.

Habibi said the ACAA planned to reconstruct terminals, runway and boundary walls around Herat, Farah and Zabul airports this year.

Reactivation of airfield meteorology centres after 40 years and improving the activity of Aviation Institute without sending students abroad were other developments that took place.

“Another issue that we frequently face is postponement of flights. To control flight delays, we will soon send a new regulation to the cabinet. Every airline that delays flights would be fined.”

Habibi said the ACAA had been able to expend 66 percent of the $70 million budget this financial year.