Flight Traffic Over Afghanistan Increases Following Closure of Iranian Airspace
The spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Transport and Aviation has announced a recent rise in the number of flights passing through Afghan airspace. According to Hikmatullah Asifi, after Iran closed its airspace, the routes of several international flights were altered to pass through Afghanistan’s skies.
Mr. Asifi did not provide specific details regarding the exact scale of this increase or any potential revenue generated from it. So far, the Taliban administration has not released official statistics concerning transit revenue from these flights—a subject often criticized for a lack of financial transparency.
Meanwhile, the website Flightradar24 reported that following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, many airlines have avoided direct passage over Iranian airspace. According to this site’s data, some of these flights are now rerouted through alternative paths, including Afghan airspace, resulting in higher air traffic along these routes.
Due to its geographical position at the crossroads of Central and South Asia, Afghanistan has long been one of the region’s key air transit corridors. However, experts emphasize that safe, transparent, and standardized management of the country’s airspace is crucial to maintaining the trust of international airlines.
