jis
Permanent Way Inspector
Staff member
Administator
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AU Supporting Member
Gathering Team Member
The only route that is allowed to overfly Afghanistan these days is the so called G500-P500 route which crosses Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor at its narrowest point, illustrated in the Flightradar24 map below. Apparently ATC is provided by agreement between Pakistan and Tajikistan (probably treated like an oceanic crossing) since Afghanistan at present does not have a reliable or even regularly operating ATC service.
The route is illustrated using a random KLM Amsterdam to Bangkok flight, but this is the route that is used by all United flights to and from India and many Air India, KLM, Virgin, British Airway, Air France, Lufthansa, SAS, Finnair, Singapore Airlines, and occasionally even Qantas flights, to or from the subcontinent and beyond, specially in the westward direction, mostly in order to avoid the strong winter jet stream on their noses. Of course the likes of PIA, Uzbekistan Airways, Air Asthana, Aeroflot etc. also use it on flights from their home airports to the Indian subcontinent and beyond.
One curiosity of this route is that the flights always fly across Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor with their ADS-B off (see the dashed line) and always at 30,000' or above. According to Safe Airspace, those are the conditions that must be met to use G500-P500. It is otherwise considered to be safe and is done with the tacit approval of the Taliban Government (and who knows probably they are paid some money for it too).
Incidentally United always uses it because the other routing to the subcontinent typically crosses Iran on the shortest route south of Afghaistan, and US planes are forbidden to fly in Iranian airspace. But the European and Asian airlines do not have any such restrictions, and a lot of them fly across Iran, and some even fly further south over Sinai and across Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea.
The route is illustrated using a random KLM Amsterdam to Bangkok flight, but this is the route that is used by all United flights to and from India and many Air India, KLM, Virgin, British Airway, Air France, Lufthansa, SAS, Finnair, Singapore Airlines, and occasionally even Qantas flights, to or from the subcontinent and beyond, specially in the westward direction, mostly in order to avoid the strong winter jet stream on their noses. Of course the likes of PIA, Uzbekistan Airways, Air Asthana, Aeroflot etc. also use it on flights from their home airports to the Indian subcontinent and beyond.
One curiosity of this route is that the flights always fly across Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor with their ADS-B off (see the dashed line) and always at 30,000' or above. According to Safe Airspace, those are the conditions that must be met to use G500-P500. It is otherwise considered to be safe and is done with the tacit approval of the Taliban Government (and who knows probably they are paid some money for it too).
Incidentally United always uses it because the other routing to the subcontinent typically crosses Iran on the shortest route south of Afghaistan, and US planes are forbidden to fly in Iranian airspace. But the European and Asian airlines do not have any such restrictions, and a lot of them fly across Iran, and some even fly further south over Sinai and across Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea.
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