KABUL (TDI): The number of international flights using Taliban-controlled Afghan airspace reached a new high, following Iran’s missile attack on Israel.
A record 191 flights traversed Afghanistan on October 4, with airlines paying the country’s civil aviation ministry $700 per flight. These payments have become a crucial revenue stream for the cash-strapped Taliban regime.
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Afghan airspace was largely avoided by international flights after the fall of the NATO-backed government in August 2021, when the Taliban took control amid safety concerns.
However, the number of flights has steadily increased, particularly since the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel and the ensuing conflict in Gaza.
In the second week of August, Afghanistan saw over seven times the number of flights compared to the same month in 2023, according to data from FlightRadar24.
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This uptick accelerated dramatically earlier this week when Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, prompting many airlines to avoid traditional routes through Iranian airspace.
