Kam Air

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Kam Air
IATA
RQ		 ICAO
KMF		 Callsign
KAM AIR
Founded August 2003
Operating bases Kabul International Airport
Frequent-flyer program Go Orange
Fleet size 8[1]
Destinations 11
Company slogan Afghanistan's Global Gateway
Headquarters Kabul, Afghanistan
Key people Zamari Kamgar (Founder & CEO)[2]
Website www.flykamair.com

Kam Air (Persian: کام ایر‎) is an airline company that is headquartered in Kabul, Afghanistan. It operates scheduled domestic passenger services and regional international services. The Kabul International Airport serves as its main hub.[3]

History

The airline was founded on 31 August 2003 by Zamari Kamgar and was the first privately owned passenger airline in Afghanistan.[4] Its first flight operated on 8 November 2003 between Kabul, Herat and Mazari Sharif with a Boeing 727. Kam Air's first plane was provided by General Abdul Rashid Dostum as payment for supplying Dostum's private militia with fuel and food.[5]

Kam Air has its headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, opposite to the Embassy of the People's Republic of China.[6] At one time it was headquartered in the Kabul Business Centre in Shah-e-Naw, Kabul.[7] As of 2012, a ticketing office is at the Kabul Business Centre.[6] Zamari Kamgar is the Chairman and Chief Executive, Farid Peykar as Vice President, Timor Shahab as Vice President and Head of Flight Operations, and Parwiz Kamgar as the Vice President and Finance Manager.

Kam Air had announced launch of European operations from August 2010, with Vienna coming online first and then London (Gatwick),[8] but according to a Reuters, both were supposedly cancelled by British and Austrian authorities due to aircraft safety issues after a few flights.

Effective 24 November 2010, all Afghan carriers were banned from flying to the European Union because of the country's poor safety record of its civil aviation oversight system.[9]

Destinations

A Kam Air MD-80 at Kandahar International Airport in 2012

Kam Air previously served Jalalabad, Kunduz, Faizabad, Maimana, London-Gatwick, Vienna, Islamabad, Almaty and Urumqi, now focusing on profitable routes.

Kam Air currently serves the following destinations:[10]

Afghanistan
India
Iran
Tajikistan
United Arab Emirates

The airline expansion plans include flights to Ankara and Istanbul in Turkey, Baku in Azerbaijan, Baghdad and Najaf in Iraq, Urumqi and Hangzhou in China, Europe and the USA.

Fleet

Kam Air Boeing 737-200 landing in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Current

The Kam Air fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of March 2013):[11]

 Kam Air
Aircraft In fleet Order Passengers Notes
Airbus A320-214 1 0 180
Antonov An-24RV 1 0 -
Antonov An-26B 1 0 Cargo
Boeing 747-200F 2 0 Cargo operated by The Cargo Airlines
Boeing 767-200 1 0 214
McDonnell Douglas MD-82 1 0 155
McDonnell Douglas MD-83 2 0 155
McDonnell Douglas MD-87 2 0 130
Total 11 0

    Retired

    Kam Air Boeing 767-200 landing at Dubai

    Kam Air previously operated the following aircraft:[12]

    Incidents and accidents

    • On 3 February 2005, Kam Air Flight 904, a Boeing 737-200 operated by Phoenix Aviation, flying from Herat International Airport in western Afghanistan vanished from radar screens on approach to Kabul International Airport in poor weather, sparking a massive ANA search operation for the 96 passengers and eight crew. The wreckage of the plane was found on 5 February 2005 in the mountains east of Kabul. All 104 people aboard were killed.[16]
    • On 9 August 2009, a Kam Air plane bound for the Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport, China was refused permission to land and diverted to Kandahar International Airport, in southern Afghanistan after an earlier alleged bomb threat.[17][18]
    • On 11 August 2010, Douglas DC-8-63F YA-VIC suffered a tailstrike on take-off from Manston Airport, United Kingdom, destroying an approach light.[19] The aircraft was operating an international cargo flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina via the Cape Verde Islands. The incident was caused by the aircraft being overweight, due to excess fuel having been uploaded, making the aircraft 25,700 pounds (11,700 kg) overweight. After being informed of the tailstrike, the crew continued the flight to the Cape Verde Islands, where inspection revealed that a tailstrike had occurred, although the tailstrike indicator was within limits. The incident was investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, which made four safety recommendations. A direct result of the incident, Kam Air were banned from operating within the European Union. The three crew involved were dismissed, and Kam Air announced that it would withdraw its two DC-8s from service.[20]

    See also

    References

    1. ↑ Kam Air Fleet
    2. ↑ About Kam Air
    3. ↑ "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 99. 
    4. ↑ China diverts 'bomb threat' plane. Al Jazeera. August 9, 2009.
    5. ↑ Portfolio at NYU | Best Of: Lord of the Skies - In war-torn Afghanistan, Zamarai Kamgar has built the only private airline.
    6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Contact Us." Kam Air. Retrieved on 30 January 2012. "Kam Air Head Office Ministry of Foreign Affairs Road Opposit [sic] Chinese Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan" and "Ticketing Office Kabul Business Centre Ground Floor Charahi Haji Yaqoob Kabul, Afghanistan"
    7. ↑ "Contact Us." Kam Air. Retrieved on 23 September 2009. "Kamair Head Quarter Address: 1st Floor, Kabul Business Centre Char Rahi Haji Yaqub, Shah-e-Naw Kabul Afghanistan Afghanistan"
    8. ↑ Article mentions Kam Air Europe flights
    9. ↑ Article mentions Kam Air's EU suspensions
    10. ↑ Kam Air flight schedule
    11. ↑ Kam Air fleet at ch-aviation
    12. ↑ Kam Air fleet history
    13. ↑ Kam 767-200ER
    14. ↑ Kam Cargo DC-8F
    15. ↑ Kam Yak-40
    16. ↑ Kam Air Flight 904 information
    17. ↑ Afghan plane to Urumqi lands in Kandahar city. Xinhua. August 9, 2009.
    18. ↑ China turns back Xinjiang plane. BBC News. August 9, 2009.
    19. ↑ Hradecky, Simon (12 May 2011). "Report: Kam Air DC86 at Manston on Aug 11th 2010, tail strike on takeoff". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2011. 
    20. ↑ "YA-VIC". Air Accidents Investigation Branch. Retrieved 15 May 2011. 

    External links

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