Talks on outsourced airport operations still ongoing

KABUL (Tolo News): The talks on running the technical operations of five major airports have yet to be finalized with Turkish and Qatari companies, said the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (MoTCA). A spokesman for MoTCA said the sides are discussing the legal aspects of the contracts.
According to MoTCA, a technical team from Afghanistan recently visited Doha to hold talks, but the final decision has yet to be made. “The technical team of the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation is still talking about handing over the technical activities of Kabul Airport with technical teams of Turkey and Qatar,” said Imamuddin Ahmadi.
Economists believe signing contracts with foreign companies will boost the reliability of Afghan aviation and foreign airlines will resume flights. “Handing over the technical operations of the Afghanistan airports to Turkey will boost the confidence of international airlines to resume flights and it will also pave the ground for 24/7 flights in Afghanistan,” said Shakir Yaqobi, an economist.
The economists said resuming operations at the Afghan airport will increase the commercial flights, which will add to the country’s revenue from air space use.
“It is necessary for Afghan airports to host international flights–the Afghan air-corridors can be opened–which is important for economic development,” said Basheer Basheer, an economist. The major international airlines halted their flights to Afghanistan. Afghan passengers are currently forced to make multiple stops to reach their destinations.