Seven Afghan Airlines Bankrupted Since 2001

Seven Afghan private airlines have been bankrupted due to insecurities, economical problems and lack of government support to domestic airlines, an official from the Aviation Companies Union said Sunday.

According to the official, Safi, Pamir, Ufuq Sharq, Afghan Jet, Faza Air, Kabul Air and Khurasan are among the bankrupted Afghan private airlines.

However, Kam Air and Ariana Afghan Airlines, the state-owned company which serves as the country’s national carrier, are the only two Afghan companies which are operating in Afghanistan right now.

Bankruptcy of the domestic airlines have paved the ground for nine foreign companies to start operating in Afghanistan.

“70 percent of our Afghans are travelling with foreign companies and less than 30 percent are travelling with domestic companies,” Fareed Paikar, head of the Aviation Companies Union said.

But, travel agents say the bankruptcy of the domestic airlines have increased the cost of tickets and caused hundreds of people to lose their jobs.

On January 2018, Kam Air, the only Afghan private airline, lost nine staff members in a Taliban attack on Kabul Intercontinental hotel and suffered a devastating loss. Kam Air used to provide links between major cities in Afghanistan where travel by road is often dangerous, but now the airline has decreased its flights.