Business
Ariana Afghan Airlines faces financial crisis as COVID-19 looms
As per some pieces of evidence received by Ariana News, Ariana Afghan Airlines has fired 40% of its employees while decrementing the payrolls for the remaining employees up to 30%.
Some members of parliament criticize Ariana Afghan Airlines for firing its employees considering it an illegal act. They urge the government to financially support this service company and save jobs.
The COVID-19 has wilted the only governmental airline company in Afghanistan.
The CEO of Ariana Afghan Airlines said that just in the first three months of 2020, the company had suffered a loss of seven million USD due to limited flights and that now efforts were underway to make up for the loss.
Ariana News has received some shreds of evidence which show that the Ariana Afghan Airlines has decided to fire 40% of its employees as well as to decrement the salaries of the remaining employees up to 30%.
Alem Shah Ibrahimi, the CEO of Ariana Afghan Airlines, said, “We terminating our employees because we have walked into financial crisis, and we will pay others at least 30% of their salaries. We have to manage the crisis and not let the company go bankrupt.”
Some legal bodies believe that the financial crisis cannot justify firing employees, especially when COVID-19 has hit people financially.
The evidence shows that Ariana Afghan Airline suggests allocating six million dollars to establish Bakhtar Airlines, although the airline is suffering from the crisis.
Therefore, the authorities have come under criticism for not financially supporting the almost bankrupt Ariana Afghan Airlines, and instead, are trying to establish another airline company.
Although Ariana Afghan Airlines is going through its hard time, with having 40% of its workers sacked, it still conducts domestic flights transporting service workers – meaning, it could be making money.
Moreover, the airline is trying to help import important goods from other countries to Afghanistan.
The government is expected to financially support the service and private businesses to help overcome the crisis derived from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ariana Afghan Airlines has announced a reduction in cargo service rates on the Kabul–Delhi route as part of efforts to support Afghanistan’s trade and export sector.
The airline said the new cargo rate has been set at $1.20 per kilogram, a move intended to make air freight more affordable and accessible for Afghan traders and exporters.
Bakht-ur-Rahman Sharafat, head of Ariana Afghan Airlines, said the decision is expected to play a significant role in increasing exports of domestic products and strengthening commercial activity between Afghanistan and India.
He added that Ariana will continue to introduce new measures in the future to improve its services and better meet the needs of its customers.
Thirteen trade and investment memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth more than $100 million were signed between private sector representatives of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan during a conference held in Kabul on Saturday.
The conference, which brought together business leaders and officials from both countries, focused on expanding bilateral economic cooperation, increasing trade volume, and identifying new investment opportunities.
Speaking at the event, Nooruddin Azizi, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Afghanistan, said economic relations between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan have gained notable momentum in recent months. He stressed that Afghanistan is actively working to strengthen regional trade ties and create a more favorable environment for investors.
Azizi added that Afghanistan offers significant investment potential, particularly due to its available workforce and emerging opportunities across multiple sectors, and is ready to welcome joint ventures with foreign partners.
Officials from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce of Afghanistan said the government has facilitated around $2 billion in investment across various sectors over the past year, reflecting growing investor interest in the country’s economy.
The Uzbek delegation also reiterated its commitment to expanding economic relations with Afghanistan, describing the agreements as an important step toward deeper regional cooperation.
Amanbay Orynbayev, head of Uzbekistan’s Karakalpakstan delegation, said his country places strong emphasis on long-term, transparent, and reliable economic partnerships. He encouraged Afghan traders to take advantage of joint investment opportunities to access new regional markets.
The Afghan private sector welcomed the agreements, expressing hope that increased trade engagement and business exchanges will further strengthen economic ties between the two neighboring countries.
Officials noted that the total value of agreements signed between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan has now exceeded $1.5 billion. If implemented effectively, these commitments are expected to contribute to increased trade flows and broader economic growth in Afghanistan.
A new multimodal freight corridor linking China and Afghanistan via Turkmenistan has been officially launched, aiming to improve the speed and efficiency of overland cargo transportation across Central Asia.
According to the Turkmenistan Embassy in London, the country has become part of a newly established route designed to accelerate freight deliveries between China and Afghanistan.
The corridor, developed with the involvement of Uzbekistan Railways’ subsidiary Uztemiryulcontainer, covers approximately 7,400 kilometers and is expected to reduce transit time to around 30 days, improving overall logistics efficiency.
Under the new route, containers are transported by rail from China through the Altynkol station in Kazakhstan, continuing via Uzbekistan to a logistics hub in Bukhara. From there, cargo is transferred to road transport and moved across Turkmenistan before reaching Herat in Afghanistan.
Officials say the new system integrates rail and road networks into a unified logistics chain, making transport more predictable and efficient.
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