Ariana Afghan Airlines

Ariana Afghan Airlines Co. Ltd. is the oldest and the national airline of Afghanistan, and is currently the largest Afghan airline, headquartered in Kabul.^[1] The airline operates domestic and international passenger services.

It is wholly owned by the Afghan government, with its main base in Kabul International Airport.^[2]

History

Ariana Afghan Airlines was established on 27 January 1955. During the 1970s, Ariana was considered a good standing, reliable airline. At that time, Ariana was owned 49% by Pan American World Airways and 51% by the Afghan government, and the airline operated aircraft such as the Douglas DC-10s, Boeing 727s, and Boeing 707s (as well as its 720 variant), exclusively offering international flights. Domestic flights were then operated by Bakhtar Alwatana. In 1985, Bakhtar absorbed Ariana, becoming Afghanistan's sole airline company.^[3] In 1988, Bakhtar's brand merged into Ariana's brand, thus creating an airline which could serve both short and long haul routes.

Taliban era

After the end of the Soviet war in 1989 and collapse of Najibullah's government, the Taliban took over Kabul in 1996. Afghanistan faced substantial economic sanctions from the international sector during the Taliban regime. The sanctions, along with the Taliban government's control of the company and the grounding of many of the carrier's international flights, had a devastating effect on the economic health of the company through the 1990s. The fleet was reduced to only a handful of Russian and Ukrainian built An-26s, Yakovlev Yak-40s and three Boeing 727s, which were used on the longest domestic routes. In October 1996, Pakistan provided a temporary maintenance and operational base at Karachi. By 1999, Ariana flew only to Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; also, limited cargo flights continued into China's western provinces. However, sanctions imposed by UN Security Council Resolution 1267 forced the airline company to suspend overseas operations. In November 2001, the airline was grounded completely.

According to the Los Angeles Times:^[4]

With the Taliban's blessing, Bin Laden effectively had hijacked Ariana, the national civilian airline of Afghanistan. For four years, according to former U.S. aides and exiled Afghan officials, Ariana's passenger and charter flights ferried Islamic militants, arms, cash and opium through the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan. Members of Bin Laden's Al Qaeda terrorist network were provided false Ariana identification that gave them free run of airports in the Middle East.

According to people interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, Viktor Bout's companies helped in running the airline.^[5]

Post-Taliban era

Following the overthrow of the Taliban government during Operation Enduring Freedom, Ariana began to rebuild its operations in December 2001. About a month later, the UN sanctions were finally lifted, permitting the airline to fly again. As a gesture of good-will and a step towards developing foreign relations with Afghanistan, the Government of India gave the state carrier three ex-Air India Airbus A300s. Ariana resumed flights to international destinations, and its first international passenger flight since 1999 landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India.

Destinations

Ariana plan begin flying to new routes in 2011, to be announced soon. ^[6]

Fleet

The Ariana Afghan Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft (as of November 2011):^[7][8][9]

Previous types operated

Ariana own fleet:

• Airbus A300-B4
• Antonov An-24
• Boeing 707-320
• Boeing 720B
• Boeing 727-100C
• McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30
• Tupolev Tu-134
• Tupolev Tu-154

Leased fleet:

• Airbus A321
• Boeing 737-300
• Boeing 737-800
• Boeing 757-200

Incidents and accidents

Robert Young Pelton of National Geographic stated in an article that people nicknamed the airline Scariana due to a perceived poor safety record.^[10]

Ariana Afghan Airlines has had the following incidents and accidents since commencing operations:^[11]

• On 21 November 1959, Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 202, a Douglas DC-4 crashed in Beirut soon after take off due to a fire on board, 24 out of 27 people were killed in the aircraft .
• On 5 January 1969, Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701, a Boeing 727-100C arriving at London Gatwick Airport from Frankfurt Airport crashed into a house, killing 50 of the 66 persons aboard. The pilot attempted to land in dense fog, despite being advised to divert to London Heathrow. A married couple living at the house also died. Miraculously, their baby survived.
• On 15 January 1969, Douglas C-47 YA-AAB was damaged beyond economic repair in a ground collision with Douglas DC-6 YA-DAN of Ariana at Kabul International Airport.^[12]
• On 21 September 1984, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 descending to Kabul International Airport from Kandahar at 14,000 feet (4,300 m) above sea level, 12 miles (19 km) away from the airport was hit by a explosive bullets in engine number 1. 300 passengers were aboard with no fatalities reported.
• On 10 December 1988, an Antonov An-26 of Ariana was shot down by Pakistani terrorists over Pakistan, killing all 25 passengers and crew.
• On 18 June 1989, a door opened aboard an Antonov An-24 in the middle of a flight from Kabul to Zaranj, and six people were killed when the plane crashed into a hill.
• On 29 May 1992, a Tupolev 154M, carrying the then president of Afghanistan Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, was hit by an RPG as it was on approach to land at Kabul Airport. The plane landed safely, with no fatalities.^[13][14]
• On 11 September 1995, another An-26 crashed, after running out of fuel at Jalalabad, three passengers died.
• On 29 October 1997, another crash occurred in Jalalabad when a Yakovlev Yak-40 crashed while landing, resulting in two fatalities.
• In January 1998 an Antonov An-12 crashed near Khojak Pass, Pakistan after running out of fuel killing all 51 people on board.
• On 29 March 1998, a Boeing 727 from Sharjah via Kandahar to Kabul crashed after hitting a mountain while heading to Kabul Airport, resulting in the loss of all 45 on board.
• On 6 February 2000, to escape a Taliban death squad, nine men, led by brothers Ali Safi and Mohammed Safi, hijacked Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 805, a Boeing 727 containing more than 180 people. The plane was diverted through Tashkent and Moscow before landing at Stansted Airport north of London, where the hijacking ended four days later with a peaceful surrender. The men were convicted in December 2001 of hijacking, false imprisonment and weapons offenses. They each served sentences of between 27 and 30 months, and have since been granted asylum in the UK.^[15] It was later found that the hijacking was a drama orchestrated jointly by the hijackers, their families and other passengers in hope of getting asylum.
• In October 2001, bombing by United States forces on the airport destroyed two Boeing 727-100C, two Antonov An-12, and three Antonov An-24.
• On 23 March 2007, an Ariana Airbus A300B4 from Kabul via Ankara, landing at Atatürk International Airport, Istanbul, overran the runway and came to a halt resting on its right wing. The weather was poor, with rain and gusting winds. The aircraft has since been dismantled.^[16]

Banned in the European Union

The entire Ariana Afghan Airlines fleet is on the list of air carriers banned in the EU.^[17] The rationale for the decision by the European Commission was the following (paraphrased):^[18]

• During ramp inspections performed by German authorities under the SAFA programme evidence of serious safety deficiencies on the part of Ariana Afghan Airlines with regard to a certain aircraft on its fleet came to light (SAFA inspections No LBA-D-2004-269, LBA-D-2004-341, LBA-D-2004-374 and LBA-D-2004-597).
• Ariana Afghan Airlines has demonstrated a lack of ability to address the safety deficiencies raised.
• The air carrier in question, Ariana Afghan Airlines, did not respond in an adequate and timely manner to an enquiry by the civil aviation authority of Germany regarding the safety aspects of its operations. This demonstrates a lack of communication.
• The regulatory authorities of Afghanistan, which have the responsibility for regulatory oversight of Ariana Afghan Airlines, have not exercised an adequate oversight over the aircraft used by this carrier in accordance with the obligations imposed on them under the Chicago Convention.
• Therefore and on the basis of the common criteria^[19] the Commission assessed that Ariana Afghan Airlines did not meet the common criteria and therefore should be banned from operating aircraft within the airspace of the Member States of the European Union.

References

External links

Official website

• Ariana Afghan Airlines

Other websites

• Ariana Afghan Airlines at the Aviation Safety Network Database
• Piloting Afghanistan to a prosperous future