A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) commercial flight from Islamabad, the first international commercial flight since the Taliban takeover, touched down in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday.
The Pakistani state airline flight from Islamabad carrying a handful of passengers landed at the Kabul airport, which was severely damaged during a chaotic evacuation of more than 120,000 people ahead of the August 31 deadline for US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“There was hardly anyone on the plane, around 10 people… maybe more staff than passengers,” said an AFP journalist aboard the PIA flight from Islamabad.
The resumption of commercial flights will be a key test for the Taliban, who have repeatedly promised to allow Afghans with the right documents to leave the country freely.
Many NATO nations admitted that they had run out of time to evacuate thousands of at-risk Afghans before the August 31 deadline, which was agreed between the US and the Taliban.
A PIA spokesman said over the weekend that the airline was keen to resume regular commercial services, but it was too soon to say how frequently flights between the two capitals would operate.
Qatar Airways operated several charter flights out of Kabul last week, carrying mostly foreigners and Afghans who missed the evacuation.
An Afghan airline resumed domestic services on September 3.
A ‘hopeful day’
“This is a big moment. We are very excited,” said one airport employee, dressed in a blue shalwar kameez and orange high-visibility vest.
“It’s a hopeful day. Maybe other airlines will see this and decide to come back.”
A bus painted with a “Welcome to Afghanistan” was waiting to ferry the passengers from the plane to the terminal, but in the end the new arrivals walked.
Around 100 passengers were waiting to catch the return flight to Islamabad, mostly relatives of staffers with international organisations such as the World Bank, according to airport ground staff.
Passenger halls, airbridges and technical infrastructure were badly damaged in the days after the Taliban rolled into Kabul on August 15, when thousands of people stormed the airport in the hope of fleeing…..read more
Source: France24
