Taliban Insists On Asking For Discounted Fares, Pakistan Airlines Suspends Flights To Afghanistan

Ilustrasi Pakistan Airlines. (Wikimedia Commons/Terry Whalebone)

JAKARTA - Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) suspended flights to Kabul on Thursday, after what it called heavy interference by Taliban authorities.

The suspension comes as the Afghan government created by the Taliban ordered the airline, the only international airline to operate regularly from the Afghan capital, to cut fares to levels before the fall of the Western-backed Afghan government in August.

"We are suspending our flight operations to Kabul from today, due to the firmness of the authorities," a PIA spokesman said, citing Reuters Oct. 14.

Earlier, the Taliban warned PIA and Afghan airline Kam Air that their flight operations risk being blocked unless the two airlines agree to cut ticket prices that have soared beyond the reach of most Afghans.

With most airlines no longer flying to Afghanistan, ticket prices for flights from Kabul, Afghanistan to Islamabad, Pakistan have soared from $120-150-120, to $2,500-120 according to travel agents in the Afghan capital.

Afghanistan's Ministry of Transport said in a statement, prices on routes must be adjusted according to ticket conditions before the victory of the Islamic Emirate or flights will be stopped.

In addition, the authorities also ask every passenger and other person to report any violations related to this policy.

Flights between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been severely restricted since Kabul airport reopened last month, following the chaotic evacuation of more than 100,000 Westerners and vulnerable Afghans following a Taliban victory.

Abdullah, a 26-year-old pharmaceutical company employee said PIA flights had become a 'small window' for Afghans trying to leave the country.

"We really need this flight. The border is closed, now if the airport is closed, we are all in a cage," he said.

PIA, which runs charter flights to Kabul rather than regular commercial services, said it had maintained flights on humanitarian grounds and faced an insurance premium of $400,000, as Kabul is treated as a war zone by insurers.

No comment was immediately available from Thurs Air.

PIA said that since the new Taliban government was formed, its staff in Kabul have faced last-minute changes in regulations and flight permits, as well as intimidating behavior from Taliban commanders.

It said his country's representatives had been held at gunpoint for hours in one incident and were only released after the Pakistani embassy in Kabul intervened.

To note, as the escalating economic crisis adds to concerns about Afghanistan's future under the Taliban, there is a huge demand for outbound flights, exacerbated by recurring problems at the land border into Pakistan.

Kabul's main passport office has been packed with people trying to get travel documents since it reopened this month. In addition, flights are also used by international officials and aid workers traveling to Kabul.