Dubai’s Emirates suspends Kabul flights

Dubai’s Emirates has suspended all flights to and from Afghanistan’s capital Kabul until further notice.

“Customers are advised that due to the developing situation in Afghanistan, all Emirates flights to/from Kabul have been suspended until further notice,” the carrier said in a travel update on its website.

“Customers holding tickets with final destination to Kabul will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin,” it added.

The airline advised affected customers to contact their booking agents or the local Emirates office for rebooking options. “Customers can check the latest information on their flights by visiting the flight status page,” it added.

On Sunday, August 15, an Emirates flight from Dubai abandoned its landing in Kabul and returned to the emirate.

“Due to the unforeseen temporary closure of the runway at the time of Emirates’ approach at Hamid Karzai International Airport, Emirates flight EK 640 to Kabul operating on 15 August has returned back to Dubai,” the state-owned airline had said.

Read: Emirates flight returns from Kabul, flydubai temporarily suspends operations

Meanwhile, Dubai-based flydubai also announced the temporary suspension of its flights to Kabul, adding that the company will continue to closely monitor the situation and review its plans in line with the instructions made by the competent authorities, official news agency WAM reported.

Taliban leaders marched into Kabul on Sunday, preparing to take full control of Afghanistan two decades after they were removed by the US military.

Read more: Taliban set to retake Afghanistan after two decades

The Taliban swept through Afghanistan in a matter of weeks, taking world leaders by surprise as they entered a vacuum created by departing US and NATO forces working against the August 31 deadline imposed by US President Joe Biden to end America’s longest war.

In many cases the militants encountered little or no resistance from Afghan’s US-trained military. Key provincial centers close to Kabul and in far-flung corners of the nation fell in quick succession.