By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ISTANBUL (AA) – UAE-based carrier flydubai airlines resumed its flights to Afghanistan on Wednesday, officials in the capital Kabul said, citing "secure" conditions.
The resumption comes two years after the international airline stopped flying to the war-torn nation.
“The initiation of Flydubai flights to Kabul is indicative of the restoration of Afghanistan’s airspace to a secure and conventional state, accommodating various types of flights,” said a statement from the office of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Taliban’s interim deputy prime minister for economic affairs in Afghanistan.
“It shows that all airports in Afghanistan are now equipped to deliver requisite facilities and adhere to standard services,” it added.
“This reestablishment of air connectivity with Flydubai signifies a milestone in revitalizing healthy competition among airlines, contributing to the equitable determination of airfare prices,” it said.
Many airlines stopped flights to Kabul after the Taliban’s sudden return to power in August 2021.