Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, on Wednesday said that its flight GF742 travelling from Bahrain to Kabul carrying 117 passengers on board were refused to land at Kabul airport.
“GF 742 was refused permission to land in Kabul by the Civil Aviation Authority in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” the airline said in a statement. “The flight carrying 117 passengers has since returned to Bahrain. Gulf Air is working hard to make sure all passengers affected are accommodated on alternative flights either to their destination of origin or Kabul as soon as possible. The airline would like to apologize for the disruption caused to its passengers which was beyond its control,” the statement added.
The Afghan authorities recently advised the airline to reduce its flights from four to two per week without justifiable reason and in direct contravention of the bilateral agreement in place between The Kingdom of Bahrain and Afghanistan which permits Gulf Air to operate 8 flights per week. Gulf Air was therefore operating in accordance with its schedule and the bilateral agreements in place between Bahrain and Afghanistan.
As such the refusal to permit landing directly contravenes the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) agreements and protocols in this regard.
Furthermore, none of the other airlines operating higher frequencies into Kabul have been subjected to such punitive measures.
Gulf Air is seeking official clarification from the Civil Aviation Authority in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and hopes that the situation will be resolved as quickly as possible.
The official at the airline confirmed on Thursday that Gulf Air would continue to operate its flights to Kabul as per the agreement between the two countries.