Air India operates it’s last commercial flight from Kabul with 129 on board

When it comes to humanitarian missions, Air India is the first port of call for the Government of India, given their state-owned status. And they deliver, always.

However, last evening (on August 15, 2021), Air India operated what could be their last commercial flight out of Kabul, inevitably for the time being. It was supposed to be a normal day, in spite of the situation that was changing by the minute in Afganistan. Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport was still open for business, and scheduled flights were operating normally. AI243 Delhi – Kabul, operated per its normal schedule with an Airbus A320neo, and the first hint of trouble came in just about as the flight was about to land. They went into a holding pattern but eventually made it to the ground at Kabul Airport albeit a bit delayed than the original schedule. The flight into Kabul had 40 passengers on board.

a map of a plane

Even on the way back, it seemed all was normal. More crowded airport for sure, but things were moving. AI244 was bringing home 129 passengers back to Delhi.

a group of people standing in a line with luggage

AI 244, Air India’s flight with 129 passengers from Kabul landed in Delhi on Sunday evening, after departing from Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport at 6.06 p.m. as the Taliban reached the Afghan capital and were on the verge of taking power.

The 129 passengers on board included diplomatic staff from the Indian embassy in Kabul, and as per an NDTV news report, even some Members of Parliament of Afghanistan.

Air India was going to operate another flight to Kabul on August 16, 2021, with AI243 scheduled to take off at 8:50 AM, however, with the airport having lost control and the commercial flights being suspended, they have finally cancelled the operation this afternoon.

a screenshot of a flight schedule

As per newswires, Air India has been asked by the Government of India to keep two aircraft on standby for evacuation missions. Not just that, the military resources have also swung in with an Indian Air Force C17 Globemaster operating an airlift overnight from Kabul.

Bottomline

It could be a while before we could see some semblance return at Afghanistan’s Kabul Airport, and while Air India might be on standby for another mission to Afghanistan, AI244 on August 15, 2021, might have been the last flight out of Kabul for a while for any scheduled carrier from India.


Liked our articles and our efforts? Please pay an amount you are comfortable with; an amount you believe is the fair price for the content you have consumed. Please enter an amount in the box below and click on the button to pay; you can use Netbanking, Debit/Credit Cards, UPI, QR codes, or any Wallet to pay. Every contribution helps cover the cost of the content generated for your benefit.

(Important: to receive confirmation and details of your transaction, please enter a valid email address in the pop-up form that will appear after you click the ‘Pay Now’ button. For international transactions, use Paypal to process the transaction.)

We are not putting our articles behind any paywall where you are asked to pay before you read an article. We are asking you to pay after you have read the article if you are satisfied with the quality and our efforts.

.

About Ajay

Ajay Awtaney is the Founder and Editor of Live From A Lounge (LFAL), a pioneering digital platform renowned for publishing news and views about aviation, hotels, passenger experience, loyalty programs, travel trends and frequent travel tips for the Global Indian. He is considered the Indian authority on business travel, luxury travel, frequent flyer miles, loyalty credit cards and travel for Indians around the globe. Ajay is a frequent contributor and commentator on the media as well, including ET Now, BBC, CNBC TV18, NDTV, Conde Nast Traveller and many other outlets.

More articles by Ajay »

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *