After the air space across large swaths of the Middle East turned into a no-fly zone, the skies over Afghanistan have become increasingly crowded as airlines seek alternative flight paths to connect Asia with Europe and the US.
Flights over Taliban-controlled Afghanistan have surged by 500% over the past week, averaging 280 a day since Israel began its attack on Iran on June 13, according to data from Flightradar24. That compares with 50 flights on average traversing the country each day last month, the flight-tracking site said.
The conflict, as well as the risk of escalation as the US considers joining Israel in its bombardment of Iran, has made flying through Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Iran difficult, all but cutting off an important artery in one of the busiest zones for commercial aviation. Some carriers, including American Airlines Inc. and Air France-KLM, have cut back services to the region as the regional conflict enters a second week with little sign of abating.
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Restrictions on flying over Afghanistan were eased in 2023, two years after the Taliban took control over the country and the US withdrew its troops, but many airlines have still largely avoided the airspace. Since late in 2023, more carriers started using the skies over Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, with daily flights over the Gulf nation — which lies just south of the closed-off air space — doubling this week to 1,400.
The surge in overflights stands to bring a financial windfall to the cash-strapped Taliban, which charge a fee of $700 for each flight, collected via third-party intermediaries. That would translate in an inflow of more than $1 million over a week as a result of the increase in traverses.
