Airlines Reroute Over Afghanistan as Middle East Tensions Escalate
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Raven Ruma
- . August 24, 2024
- . Update: August 24, 2024 9:57 pm
After years of avoiding its airspace, big airlines including Singapore Airlines, British Airways, and Lufthansa have boosted their flights over Afghanistan in a marked change in global aviation trends. The choice comes as the Middle East turmoil continues makes Afghan airspace a rather safer choice for airlines flying between Asia and Europe.
Three years ago, the airlines had mostly stopped flying over Afghanistan after the Taliban took power and air traffic control operations were stopped. Although these services have not yet resumed, airlines looking to reduce risk find Afghan airspace more enticing given the growing hostilities between Iran and Israel. Routes that once passed Iran and the Middle East—regions now judged riskier—are being diverted over Afghanistan.
The Changing Airspace Safety Calculus
“The mathematics of which airspace to use has changed as conflicts have changed. Given the present tensions between Iran and Israel, airlines are looking to minimize risk as much as possible. Overflying Afghanistan is the safer choice they see,” said Ian Petchenik, a Flightradar24 spokesman.
A Reuters review of Flightradar24 data shows that compared to the same period a year ago, the second week of August’s aircraft count over Afghanistan rose more than seven-fold. This change started in mid-April in line with reciprocal missile and drone strikes between Iran and Israel. Among other airlines, including British Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Lufthansa, gradually a few planes a day were rerouted over Afghanistan.
After top officials of militant organizations Hamas and Hezbollah were killed in late July, the situation grew more severe and raised questions of a possible Middle Eastern major escalation. Airlines have so turned to Afghan airspace as a safer substitute more and more.
Safety Concerns for Pilots and Policies
Some pilots still find the move unsettling even if Afghan airspace is used more and more. “Your airline’s analysis will determine this. Otjan de Bruin, a commercial pilot and head of the European Cockpit Association, said every time I fly out there, he hates the sensation of flying over a combat region where you really don’t know what is occurring. “It’s always safe enough, except proven otherwise.”
Early July saw Lufthansa Group decide to begin overflying Afghan territory, according to Reuters. Since April, other carriers including Thai Airways, Air France-KLM group, and Turkish Airlines have also flown more over Afghanistan. In a statement to Reuters, KLM underlined that, depending on present security data, it only flies over Afghanistan on designated routes and at high altitudes.
Industry Challenges and Regulating Shifts
Changes in aviation rules have helped to enable the surge in flights over Afghanistan. Early in July, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) let aircraft fly at a lower altitude across a limited area of northeastern Afghanistan known as the Wakhan Corridor. Originally utilized for crossing from Tajikistan to Pakistan, this route has now been more open for a greater spectrum of flights. The FAA had earlier removed its prohibition on overflights in Afghanistan in mid-2023, allowing aircraft kept above 32,000 feet, where surface-to– air weaponry are less effective.
But the memory of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014 amid a battle between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces, haunts the aviation sector still. Decisions about airspace safety still bear influence from this catastrophe.
Pilots crossing Afghan territory interact with surrounding aircraft following a procedure set out by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority in the absence of air traffic control. Although Afghan airspace is being used, flight safety group OPSGROUP said in July that should a plane be forced to land, there are no guarantees for the safety of crew or passengers.
Cost Pressures and Restricted Pathways
As they negotiate the loss of smaller routes across Russian territory and heal from the epidemic, airlines are under more and more pressure to cut costs. Following the Ukraine war, Russian airspace were closed to most Western aircraft, which pushed airlines to investigate other routes. From Europe, central Afghanistan provides a more direct route to southern Asia for airlines unable to fly by Russia, Ukraine, or Iran.
From a pilot who flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur across central Afghanistan in July, OPSGROUP reported: “This route saved us a fair chunk of time and fuel.”
Even although Afghan airspace is becoming a more used path in the wake of continuous Middle East tensions, safety of this area continues under examination as airlines keep adjusting to the changing geopolitical scene.
