From the Liveblog of
Friday, August 23, 2024
Airlines choosing to fly over Taliban-controlled Afghanistan as Iran-Israel escalation becomes greater risk
Singapore Airlines, British Airways ICAG.L and Lufthansa LHAG.DE have increased their flights over Afghanistan in recent months after years of largely avoiding it, deeming it a safer option than passing over Iran and Israel amid threats of regional escalation.
The carriers mostly stopped transiting Afghanistan, which lies on major routes between Asia and Europe, three years ago when the Taliban took over and air traffic control services stopped.
Those services have yet to resume, but airlines increasingly consider the skies between Iran and Israel to be riskier than Afghan airspace.
There were more than seven times the number of flights over Afghanistan in the second week of August than during the same period a year ago, according to a Reuters analysis of FlightRadar24 data.
“As conflicts have evolved, the calculus of which airspace to use has changed. Airlines are seeking to mitigate risk as much as possible and they see overflying Afghanistan as the safer option given the current tensions between Iran and Israel,” Ian Petchenik, a spokesperson for flight tracking organization Flightradar24, says.
The shift began in mid-April when Iran launched more than 300 rockets, drones and missiles at Israel in an unprecedented attack. Flight tracking data from the time shows Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, British Airways and others began to send a few flights a day over Afghanistan.
But the main growth has been since the killing of Hezbollah’s top military commander Fuad Shukr and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in late July which raised concerns of a major escalation.
Some pilots are concerned.
“You’re depending on the analysis of your airline. Every time I fly out there, I don’t like the feeling of flying over a conflict area where you don’t know, actually, what is happening,” says Otjan de Bruin, a commercial pilot and head of the European Cockpit Association. “It’s always safe enough, until proven otherwise.”
Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.
