Sudden closure of Kabul airport throws schedules of remaining flights into disarray

The sudden closure of Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Monday threw schedules for the few remaining airlines operating flights to Afghanistan into disarray, including Air India which had a flight scheduled for 12.30pm.

Two NOTAMs or notices to airmen – official notices containing essential information on flight operations – issued on Monday morning by the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority said the civilian side of Hamid Karzai International Airport or Kabul airport was “closed until further notice” and that Kabul’s airspace “has been released to the military”.

The second NOTAM advised all “transit aircraft to reroute” and cautioned that “any transit through Kabul airspace will be uncontrolled”.