{"id":22904,"date":"2023-08-02T06:12:20","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T10:12:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/?p=22904"},"modified":"2024-07-10T08:31:29","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T12:31:29","slug":"who-wants-to-overfly-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ops.group\/blog\/who-wants-to-overfly-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Aug 2023: Who wants to overfly Afghanistan?"},"content":{"rendered":"

No one!<\/strong> There\u2019s no ATC service<\/strong> across the entire country, there\u2019s a seemingly endless list of surface-to-air weaponry they might start shooting at you<\/strong> if you fly too low, and if you have to divert<\/strong> then good luck with the Taliban.<\/p>\n

US operators can now overfly Afghanistan<\/h4>\n

The US FAA has just published a new SFAR for Afghanistan<\/a> which amends its airspace warning for the country. US operators are now permitted to overfly the OAKX\/Kabul FIR at FL320 and above.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Previously, flights were only allowed on airways P500\/G500<\/strong> in the east of the country. This made more sense from an airspace-risk point of view, as flights on these routes transit Afghan airspace only very briefly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But now, if you’re a US operator, you’re no longer limited to those two airways – you can fly where you like across that big red blob as long as it’s at FL320 or above.<\/p>\n

The US are not the only ones who have eased their airspace warning<\/a> in this way. EASA<\/strong> also recommend FL320 or above, and Germany<\/strong> say FL330 or above. All the other countries who regularly issue airspace warnings – France, UK, Italy, and Canada <\/strong>– say that overflights should only be on those P500\/G500 airways.<\/p>\n

Why the change?<\/span><\/h4>\n

To understand the rationale behind the FAA’s easing of the airspace warning, the place to head is the “Discussion of the Final Rule”<\/em> section in the SFAR<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s a summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n