Afghanistan crisis: Air India says it cannot operate flights as airspace over country shut

New Delhi: Amidst the ongoing turmoil in Afghanistan, Air India’s flight scheduled to Kabul on Monday will not be able to operate as Afghanistan has closed its airspace, the national carrier informed on Monday. “Due to the closure of Afghanistan airspace, flights cannot go there,” Air India said. The airline had a scheduled flight for Kabul from Delhi at 8.30 am in the morning on Monday but was rescheduled to 12.30 pm. Meanwhile, Air India’s AI 126 Chicago to Delhi-bound flight has also been diverted to Gulf airspace due to the closure of Afghan airspace. Flight operations from around the world are affected at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International (HKI) airport due to the ongoing turmoil in Afghanistan. Air India operates one flight per day to Kabul and the airline has advance booking for that. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Air India are in touch and continuously monitoring the situation in Afghanistan. Earlier, Captain T Praveen Keerthi, General Secretary of Air India Pilots Association (ICPA), had written a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia regarding the evacuation of Indians and others from Kabul (Afghanistan). Taliban terrorists are assuming control of the Afghan capital of Kabul and have taken control of the presidential palace after the country’s president Ashraf Ghani fled to Tajikistan. Reports suggest that the movement will soon proclaim the re-establishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Sunday said that the Taliban have been asked to enter the capital city of Kabul.