Flights between Iran and Afghanistan resumed on Sept. 15 after political upheavals in the neighboring country and problems at Kabul International Airport, also known as Hamid Karzai International Airport, had led to their suspension.
Following licenses issued by Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization and Iraq Civil Aviation Authority, Mahan Air operated the Mashhad-Kabul-Mashhad charter flight on Sept. 15, Fars News Agency reported.
An Airbus 310 airplane took off from Mashhad International Airport with 19 passengers on board and departed from Kabul International Airport for Mashhad with 26 passengers.
Qatar Airways and Emirates are two other airlines operating flights to Afghanistan.
Earlier, Iran accepted a request by Afghanistan’s biggest commercial airline Kam Air to land its planes in Iranian airports given the security situation at Kabul airport, following the Taliban takeover of the neighboring country.
"Following the escalation of clashes and tensions at Kabul airport, the owner of private Afghan airliners Kam Air requested the transfer of a number of its airplanes to Iranian airports," Spokesman of the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran Mohammad Hassan Zibakhsh said on Thursday.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has also issued a landing permit for these planes in line with international cooperation standards with neighboring countries," he was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.
The flights will not have any passengers on board, he added.
The deteriorating security situation at the airport had become a mounting concern for western officials trying to evacuate thousands of civilians ahead of an August 31 deadline to withdraw American troops.
Kam Air is based at Hamid Karzai International Airport and flies to 12 destinations in Afghanistan, as well as Turkey, India and destinations across Central Asia and the Persian Gulf. Its fleet consists of 12 Boeing and Airbus planes.
The airline was established in 2003 by Afghan businessman, Zamaray Kamgar.
