Air India on Monday diverted its Chicago-Delhi flight toward Sharjah in the UAE to avoid Afghanistan airspace after it was declared "uncontrolled" by authorities at Kabul airport, senior officials said.
The Chicago-Delhi flight will land in Sharjah for refuelling purposes, they said. The flight will then leave for Delhi again while avoiding the Afghan airspace.
Afghanistan stares at an uncertain future as President Ashraf Ghani left the country just before Kabul fell into the hands of the Taliban on Sunday.
Senior Air India officials said the Afghanistan airspace has been declared "uncontrolled" by the Kabul airport on Monday and transit flights have been asked to avoid the airspace.
It is not clear if Air India would be operating its Delhi-Kabul-Delhi flight on Monday.
Vistara's Delhi-London flights stop using Afghanistan airspace
Vistara's flights from Delhi to London have stopped using Afghanistan airspace Kabul airport authorities have asked transit flights to avoid it. Vistara spokesperson said on Monday, "We have stopped using Afghanistan airspace and are taking an alternate route for our flights to and from London Heathrow."
"We are closely working with the relevant authorities to monitor and assess the situation and taking necessary steps to ensure the safety of our passengers, staff and aircraft," the spokesperson added.
Vistara is not going to reduce the number of its Delhi-London flights. The full-service carrier currently operates four weekly flights on Delhi-London-Delhi route.
