Iran resumes commercial flights with Afghanistan

Published on : 09/15/2021 – 14:45

Commercial flights between Iran and Afghanistan resume. After a month of interruption, connections resumed on Wednesday, September 15, with the first flight of the Iranian company Mahan Air between the Iranian city of Mashhad and Kabul.

“Today (Wednesday), Mahan Air flew passengers between Mashhad (northeastern Iran) and Kabul airport,” Iranian news agency Fars reported.

“At present, this airliner is returning to Mashhad with passengers,” the agency said.

Two flights per week

Iranian civil aviation had announced the interruption of flights to Kabul on August 16 for security reasons, the day after the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan. Previously, this company operated two flights per week between Mashhad and Kabul.

Mahan Air, the second Iranian company after the state-owned Iran Air, has been on the blacklist of entities targeted by US sanctions against Iran since 2011.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Islamic Republic hosts more than 3.46 million Afghans, the vast majority of them refugees, or more than 4% of the country’s population.

With AFP