{"id":14586,"date":"2021-08-31T00:01:48","date_gmt":"2021-08-31T04:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/?p=14586"},"modified":"2021-09-13T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T21:00:00","slug":"afghanistan-do-not-fly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/afghanistan-do-not-fly\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghanistan: Do Not Fly"},"content":{"rendered":"

US and allied forces have now pulled out of Afghanistan, and the Taliban have taken control of the country. Afghanistan\u2019s airspace is now effectively closed to overflights<\/strong> – the OAKX\/Kabul FIR is uncontrolled, and overflying traffic should route around the country.<\/p>\n

Overflights<\/h4>\n

For overflights of the region, flights between Europe and parts of Asia will be those most affected by the effective closure of the OAKX\/Kabul FIR. All major international airlines have now stopped using Afghanistan\u2019s airspace for overflights, most electing to route south via the airspace over the United Arab Emirates and Arabian Sea<\/strong> off the south coast of Pakistan.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Map source: flightradar24.com<\/p><\/div>\n

However, there are risk warnings<\/strong> to consider for the airspace here too. Several countries have warnings in place for Iran\u2019s airspace<\/strong> (the OIIX\/Tehran FIR<\/a>), including a total flight ban by the US, which were issued following the shoot-down of Ukraine Int Airlines flight 752 over Tehran in Jan 2020. The southern part of Saudi Arabia\u2019s airspace<\/strong> (the OEJD\/Jeddah FIR<\/a>) carries risk as well, with increasing Houthi drone and missile attacks over the past year.<\/p>\n

To the north of Afghanistan, the options for overflights are fairly limited – via Kyrgyzstan, Kazhakstan, or even farther north via Russia. So these are not really practical unless operating from northern Europe to China, Hong Kong, Japan, etc.<\/p>\n

Airspace Warnings<\/h4>\n

Following the Taliban takeover, several countries have updated their airspace warnings for Afghanistan.\u00a0The FAA now bans US operators from Afghanistan\u2019s airspace<\/strong>, only permitting overflights on airways P500 and G500<\/strong> in the far east of the OAKX\/Kabul FIR. EASA, along with authorities in several western countries, are now advising operators to avoid Afghanistan\u2019s airspace entirely.<\/p>\n

\"\"At SafeAirspace.net<\/strong> we are now listing Afghanistan as Level One: Do Not Fly<\/strong>. Check here<\/a> for a full briefing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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