Flights over Afghanistan increase after Iran airspace closes following U.S., Israeli strikes

The number of flights passing over Afghanistan has increased after U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran led to the closure of Iranian airspace, Taliban aviation officials said.

Hekmatullah Asifi, spokesman for the Taliban’s Transport and Civil Aviation Ministry, said some airlines have begun using Afghanistan’s airspace as an alternative route after Iran shut its skies.

Asifi did not provide exact figures, but data from the flight-tracking website Flightradar24 shows increased traffic over Afghanistan in recent days.

Airlines appear to be avoiding Iranian airspace following the latest attacks, choosing routes over Afghanistan, similar to the pattern seen during a previous brief conflict between Iran and Israel.

The rise in overflights reflects a broader trend in which carriers adjust routes to avoid potential security risks in the Middle East.

Over the past year, more airlines have gradually returned to using Afghanistan’s airspace as regional tensions disrupted other routes and aviation regulators softened their guidance on flying over the country.

Previously, Reuters reported that several international airlines had assessed Afghanistan as a viable corridor for flights between Europe and South or East Asia amid security concerns elsewhere in the region.

According to Flightradar24 data, the average number of daily overflights over Afghanistan rose from about 50 in May last year to around 280 after the start of the 12-day Iran-Israel conflict.

Transit flights pass through a country’s airspace without landing and pay a fee for the service. The increase in traffic could provide a significant revenue source for the Taliban authorities, who face severe financial constraints.

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