Commercial pilots warned Afghan airspace is ‘uncontrolled’

Commercial pilots are being warned that the status of aeronautical information services for Afghanistan is unknown while air traffic services remain unavailable in the country’s airspace. NOTAMs for the Kabul flight information region state that any transit through the airspace “will be uncontrolled” and that surrounding FIRs have been notified of the situation. Aircraft planning to transit the Kabul FIR are being advised to re-route. The NOTAM adds that the airspace has been “released to the military”. “Most flights are avoiding the Kabul FIR,” says the international pilots federation IFALPA, which is being updated by a contingency co-ordination team for Afghan airspace. The airspace was already the subject of warnings and cautions from various regulators – including US, Canadian, French, German and UK authorities – owing to the presence of anti-aircraft weaponry, with commercial flights advised not to transit below 25,000-26,000ft.<br/>