The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has recommended airlines to avoid flying over Iran due to, as they stated, the increased risk after the Iranian missile attack on Israel the previous day and Israel’s announced response. This notification on conflict zones is in effect until October 31.
The development took shape after Iran fired about 200 rockets at Israel in response, as reported, to the killing of the leaders of the pro-Iranian groups Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel announced that it would “retaliate at a time that suits it”.
This has in turn worked in favour of Afghanistan, as the country has seen a record high number of international flights passing through its airspace in the past week, amid the escalating tension in West Asia.
According to The Independent, on Thursday (Oct 3), a record 191 flights passed over Afghanistan, with airlines paying the country’s civil aviation ministry $700 per flight for the privilege.
It added that these payments showed a growing revenue stream for the cash-strapped Taliban that rule Afghanistan. The Independent also reported that these flights included British Airways, Lufthansa, and Swiss Air planes.
The number went up to 171 on Tuesday when Iran launched 180 missiles against Israel. And on Thursday and Friday, this number went up to 191, The Independent reported.
The Afghan airspace has been largely avoided by international flights since the Islamic Emirate regained power in August 2021.
But the number of flights has steadily gone up since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7 last year and the escalating conflict in parts of Middle East and West Asia.
In June this year, the Taliban-run Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation had announced that 100 to 120 airplanes pass through Afghanistan’s airspace each day, generating significant revenue for their administration.
According to the ministry, each airplane that flies over Afghanistan pays a transit fee of $700. This means that with 120 flights per day, the Taliban could earn up to $48,000 daily from airspace transit fees.
These figures contrast with those from the previous Afghan government’s Civil Aviation Authority, which reported in 2020 that 400 airplanes passed through Afghan airspace daily, totaling $280,000 every day.
In August 2023, the Taliban reported that over 25,000 flights had crossed Afghan airspace in a year, generating eight billion Afghanis in revenue.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of power in Afghanistan, most international airlines changed their routes and halted flights to Afghanistan. Nearly three years later, some regional airlines have resumed their flights from Afghanistan.
Taliban claims that there are 27 active airports across Afghanistan, including five international airports. Taliban also says that the Nangarhar Airport, which was used as a military airport during the previous government, is now open for international flights.
