Flights to Kabul are safe and will continue, says Air India

Air India, the national airline of India, has sought to reassure airline passengers and the crew that its flights to Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, are safe and will continue.

The airline’s pilots had expressed reluctance to fly to Kabul owing to concerns over safety.

The pilots were unwilling to fly to Kabul because of what they described as “technical and procedural shortcomings” as well as inadequate emergency guidelines that are to be followed in the event of poor visibility or an attempt at hijacking.

The fears of the pilots were intensified when 16 persons, including 7 Indians, were killed after suicide bombers attacked guest-houses in central Kabul on February 26, 2010.

In a statement, Air India, the only Indian airline that flies to Kabul, said that the pilots have expressed their unwillingness to operate flights to Kabul owing to security concerns. The airline said the apprehensions expressed by the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) are “misplaced” and that Air India’s flights to Kabul will continue.

Air India also said that its services to Kabul are complying with all the regulations of India’s Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The airline stressed that it has been operating flights to Kabul safely for many years now, without any safety violations or untoward incidents. Many other airlines, according to Air India, have been operating services to Kabul safely for many years with a similar type of aircraft (Category-C).

The Indian Commercial Pilots Association had threatened not to fly to Kabul if Air India did not provide them with “clear-cut guidelines” for operating flights to Afghanistan aimed at the safety of the passengers and the crew.

Captain S Sabu, general secretary of the Indian Commercial Pilots Association, had, in a letter to the executive director (operations) of Air India, pointed out that the political situation in Kabul was getting worse following the Afghan government launching a major offensive against the insurgents.

S.M. Krishna, India’s Minister for External Affairs, has said that the latest attack in Kabul by the insurgents was the third attack on Indian officials and Indian interests in Afghanistan in the last 20 months.

Praful Patel, Minister for Civil Aviation, assured the pilots that, if there was any problem about flying to Kabul, the government will look into it.

Arvind Jadhav, CMD of Air India, told reporters that Air India has received a letter from the Indian Commercial Pilots Association and that he would examine the matter.

Jadhav stressed that India has good relations with Afghanistan and that Air India would not certainly fly to Kabul if there were any safety-related concerns.