Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will resume commercial flights between Islamabad and Kabul from Monday. It will be the first scheduled international flight since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan nearly a month ago.
Air traffic to, from and in Afghanistan has been seriously disrupted since the Muslim extremists took power. Qatar Airways operated two international charter flights on Thursday and Friday, the first significant evacuation flight since the US military left Afghanistan in late August. An Afghan airline has resumed domestic flights since last week.
PIA reports Monday that it will fly an Airbus A320 from Islamabad to Kabul. How many flights will take place shortly will depend on demand? “We have received 73 requests, which is very encouraging… from humanitarian aid organizations and journalists,” said a spokesperson.
Since the end of August, it was no longer possible to fly from Afghanistan to other countries. More than 120,000 people were evacuated from the country in the two weeks between the Taliban’s power and the US departure.
Countries were able to evict their citizens and Afghans at risk under the new regime under chaotic conditions, as the Kabul airport and Afghan airspace were controlled by the US.