Afghan carriers banned from European airspace
Posted: Wed 24 Nov, 2010 2:34 PM
All Afghan carriers will be banned from flying into European airspace. The ban comes into effect from today and applies to routes from Kabul to Vienna, London and Frankfurt.
The ban is being applied due to poor safety records from Afghanistan. According to a report by eTurboNews, besides Ariana Afghan Airlines, the European Commission has also added Mauritania Airways, Afric Aviation and Gabon and Kyrgyzstan carriers.
Ariana has been on the blacklist since 2008, but has continued selling flights to Frankfurt on planes it leases from Turkey, registered in the European Union. The privately-owned Kam Air, Safi Airways and Pamir Airways fly to Germany, India, Pakistan, Turkey, Central Asoa and the Gulf and have also operated routes to Britain and Austria. However, no Afghan airlines fly to the United States of America.
