Radio Farda
September 15, 2021
Iran has resumed regular commercial flights to neighboring Afghanistan following a monthlong hiatus.
An Iranian Mahan Air aircraft landed in Kabul on September 15 with 19 passengers onboard after departing from the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad, the state-run al-Alam TV channel reported.
“At present, this airliner is returning to Mashhad with passengers,” the semiofficial Fars news agency later reported.
Regular passenger services between the two countries had stopped after the Taliban toppled the Western-backed government in Kabul a month ago, with the Iranian civil aviation agency citing security reasons for the interruption.
Previously, Mahan Air — the second-largest Iranian airline — had operated two flights per week between Mashhad and the Afghan capital.
Iran shares a 945-kilometer border with Afghanistan.
According to the United Nations and affiliated agencies, Iran hosts some 800,000 registered Afghan refugees and more than 2 million undocumented Afghans.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters