Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
September 3, 2021
A senior manager with Afghanistan’s flag carrier Ariana Afghan Airlines has said that domestic flights were set to resume on September 3, AFP reported.
“We have received a green light from the Taliban and aviation authorities and plan to start flights today,” Tamim Ahmadi told the news agency.
On September 2, Al-Jazeera quoted an Afghan civil aviation official as saying that domestic flights from Kabul airport will resume on September 3, though international flights will “take time” before restarting.
The Kabul airport has remained shut since August 31 after the United States fully withdrew its troops following 20 years of presence, but international efforts are under way to resume operations there to facilitate humanitarian assistance and further evacuations.
Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammad bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on September 2 that the Gulf Arab state was working with the Taliban to reopen Kabul’s airport “as soon as possible.”
Qatar was also working with Turkey for potential technical support to restart operations at the airport, he said, adding that he hoped for “some good news” in the coming days.
Based on reporting by AFP