US-India flights to take longer after Afghanistan's airspace shuts

AI stops commercial flights; MEA waits for services to resume to begin repatriation

Flights on the India-US and Europe routes could take up to 30 minutes more than usual as airlines have been asked to avoid Afghanistan’s airspace after the Taliban took control of the country’s capital Kabul.

Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority on Monday issued a notice to air carriers stating that the airspace had been released to the military and advised transit flights to reroute, saying there would be no air traffic control (ATC).

Sources said the airspace was shut as there were no staff to man the ATC after the Taliban took power. As a result of this sudden decision, state-owned Air India