Afghanistan without civilian air traffic service, IATA cautions

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Monday it was closely monitoring developments in Afghanistan and stressed that the war-torn nation is “now without provision of a civilian air traffic service.”

“Owing to recent developments, the Kabul FIR (Afghanistan airspace) which serves major traffic flows between Europe and Asia, is now without provision of a civilian Air Traffic Service,” the IATA said in a statement.

Earlier on Monday, the Afghan authorities shut its airspace for civilian flights and allowed the airfield at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul only for military use.