- According to Reuters, United Airlines has ordered its pilots to avoid Afghan airspace.
- Virgin Atlantic Airways and British Airways will also reschedule flights.
- Taliban militants occupied the capital Kabul on Sunday and now effectively control the country.
- For more stories, please visit Business Insider.
Several major airlines have changed their flight routes around Afghanistan’s airspace Taliban militants occupied the capital Kabul and effectively controlled the country.
“Due to the dynamic nature of the situation, we have already started arranging affected flights near Afghan airspace,” a United Airlines spokesperson told Insider.
It did not specify which flights were affected-Reuters First report Later on Sunday, this change will affect flights from the United States to India, but a spokesperson told Insider that this is not the case.
British Airways Virgin Atlantic told Insider that all its flights to Islamabad, Lahore, Mumbai and Delhi “usually fly over Afghanistan” and will avoid the country’s airspace.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement: “According to the latest situation report in Afghanistan, we will reschedule our upcoming routes to avoid Afghan airspace.”
British Airways also said on Sunday that it will divert flights around Afghanistan’s airspace. Reuters reportThe company confirmed to Insider on Monday that it “is not currently using Afghan airspace.”
The Afghan Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA) said on Monday that it has opened the national airspace to the military and recommended that all transit aircraft find new routes. Reuters report.
In recent weeks, the Taliban Sweep Afghanistan, control Whole city and region, and Thousands of Afghan civilians have been displaced. President Ashraf Ghani Say in a Facebook post He has sundays Fled this country After the Taliban fighters entered Kabul, it was 20 years after the U.S. military entered the country.President Joe Biden announced a complete U.S. withdrawal.
Taliban said it Plan to declare the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, This Associated Press Report, Citing a Taliban official who asked not to be named.
Video display shared on social media Crowds of people Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul Trying to escape the city.
In July, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) banned American commercial airlines from flying below 26,000 feet in Kabul airspace. The FAA stated in the notice that only flights to and from Hamid Karzai International Airport are allowed to fly lower.
