Main airlines are rerouting flights to evade Afghanistan airspace after insurgents took control of the presidential palace in Kabul as United State-led forces departed and Western nations scrambled on August 16, to evacuate their citizens, A United spokeswoman said.
The change affects several of the airline's U.S.-to-India flights. United Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic said they were not using the country's airspace. Airlines and governments have paid more attention to the risks of flying over conflict zones in recent years after two deadly incidents involving surface-to-air missiles. Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed few commercial flights over Afghanistan at 0300 GMT on August 16, but many planes overflying neighboring Pakistan and Iran. Airlines and governments have paid more attention to the risks of flying over conflict zones in recent years after two deadly incidents involving surface-to-air missiles.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said flights operating below 26,000 feet were prohibited in the Kabul Flight Information Region, which largely covers Afghanistan, unless operating in and out of Hamid Karzai International Airport, citing the risk "posed by extremist/militant activity."
A Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 people on board, and a Ukraine International Airlines jet was downed by Iran's military in 2020, killing all 176 passengers and crew.
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