Airlines avoid Afghan airspace as Kabul airport closes to commercial flights

Major international airlines are scrambling to reroute flights away from Afghan airspace as the country falls to the Taliban, disrupting passenger services to India, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. On Monday, United, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates and Flydubai all announced changes to flights to or over Afghanistan, saying that they would monitor the situation as chaotic scenes unfolded at the main airport in Kabul, the nation's capital. "Due to the dynamic nature of the situation, we have begun routing affected flights around Afghanistan airspace," a United Airlines spokesperson said in a statement early Monday morning local time, adding that it would continue to work closely with authorities to "determine how we continue service to markets impacted." The changes affect United flights to India. Virgin Atlantic also said that it would reroute its upcoming services to India and Pakistan after "the latest situation reports in Afghanistan." Starting Monday, the carrier's flights to the cities of Islamabad, Lahore, Mumbai and New Delhi, which usually fly over Afghanistan, will be diverted to avoid the country's airspace. "The health, safety and security of our customers and people always comes first," a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said. Lufthansa, the German airline, also said that it was "rerouting flights to avoid Afghan airspace until further notice." "As a result, the flight time to India and other destinations will be extended by up to one hour," a spokesperson said.<br/>