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Ariana to Launch Services to India
Saturday, January 26, 2002
(1:23 AM)
Economic Times

NEW DELHI
Ariana Afghan Airline is planning to start three weekly services between Afghanistan and India.

The Afghan airline plans to operate two flights a week on the Kabul-New Delhi sector and another connecting Kandhar to Amritsar. These services are likely to be launched after a month, officials of the airline indicated today.

With just one aircraft in its possession now, the airline is not in a position to launch its scheduled services immediately. However, officials of Ariana hope to get possession of a Boeing 737-400 aircraft which was bought for the airline during the Taliban regime. As of now, the airline possesses a ageing B737 aircraft which cannot be used for commercial flights for a long period.

The Afghan airline's decision to start services to New Delhi and Amritsar follows revival of bilateral civil aviation ties between the two countries through a memorandum of understanding on Friday. The agreement, which will enable flight connections between the two countries after a decade, was signed by civil aviation minister Shahnawaz Hussain and his Afghan counterpart Abdullah Rahman here.

Though IA and A-I are entitled under pact to launch services to Afghanistan, they are not likely to do so shortly. Till the ban on flying through Pakistani airspace is lifted, it would not be commercially viable to launch flights to Afghanistan.
(Economic Times News Source)
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