Explained: Why flights from Kabul have been cancelled after Taliban takeover

Afghanistan crisis: Air India operated a flight to Kabul Sunday, bringing back 129 passengers from there. It was expected to operate one flight every day, but the latest situation could see the plan canceled.

A horde of people run towards the Kabul Airport Terminal, after Taliban insurgents took control of the presidential palace in Kabul (Reuters)

Written by: Pranav Mukul

3 min readNew DelhiAug 16, 2021 12:51 PM IST First published on: Aug 16, 2021 at 12:51 PM IST

As the Taliban took control of Kabul, including its airport, the air space of Afghanistan has been declared uncontrolled with aircraft transiting over the country being asked to reroute. On account of this, Air India, which was expected to operate a scheduled flight from Delhi-Kabul at 12.30 pm, is unlikely to do so.

“Airspace over Afghanistan is declared closed, so no aircraft can operate there. Our scheduled flight to Kabul also cannot go,” an Air India source told The Indian Express.

Air India operated a flight to Kabul Sunday, bringing back 129 passengers from there. It was expected to operate one flight every day, but the latest situation could see the plan canceled. “The events are changing very fast and we are responding to them as it happens,” a senior government official said.