Ariana Afghan Airlines has resumed flights to Moscow after nearly one year of suspension with flights from Kabul to Moscow each Monday and return flights each Tuesday, said the Ministry of Transportation and Civil Aviation.
“The previous government had some problems in flights with Moscow, and therefore the flights were suspended,” said Imamuddin Ahmadi, a spokesman for the ministry. This comes as tourism companies complain of a collapse in business. They called the resumption of flights effective for the Afghan economy.
“The people are facing a lot of problems. If the flights are resumed, it is clear that they will help the economic condition of the people,” said Suhrab, head of a tourism company. The economists believe that the resumption of flights will bring more opportunities for transit and trade for Afghanistan.
“The direct flights can save the time of passengers. The flights can be effective in transportation, and cause an upsurge in trade and transit,” said Shakir Yaqobi, an economist. According to available numbers of the Ministry of Transportation and Civil Aviation, more than 20 flights come and go from Kabul airport on daily bases. Three of these flights are domestic and the rest are between Turkey, Qatar, Iran and Pakistan.
Meanwhile, officials from the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (MTCA) says that in twenty-four hours, sixty to seventy planes pass through the country airspace, and Afghanistan earns $700 from each plane passing through the country’s airspace.
Based on reports, in the previous government, in 24 hours, around 300 planes were crossing over the country’s airspace. This shows a significant decrease in the number of airplanes flying over Afghanistan’s airspace.—Tolonews
