Ariana Afghan Airlines

Ariana Afghan Airlines Co. Ltd. (Pashto: د آريانا افغان هوايي شرکت) also known simply as Ariana, is the flag carrier and largest airline of Afghanistan.^[3][4] Founded in 1955, Ariana is state owned and the oldest airline in the country.^[5] The company has its main base at Kabul International Airport, from which it operates domestic flights and international connections to destinations in China, India, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. The carrier is headquartered in Shāre Naw district, Kabul.^[6][7] Ariana Afghan Airlines has been on the list of air carriers banned in the European Union since October 2006 (2006-10)^[update].

Ariana Afghan Airlines
د آريانا افغان هوايي شرکت

IATA ICAO Call sign FG AFG ARIANA
Founded	27 January 1955 (1955-01-27)
Hubs	Kabul International Airport
Secondary hubs	Kandahar International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Reward Club[1]
Fleet size	6
Destinations	13
Parent company	Pashtany Bank
Headquarters	Kabul, Afghanistan
Key people	Rahmatullah Agha (Acting President)[2] Ahsanullah Ahsan (Commercial Director)[2]
Website	flyariana.com

History

Early years

Postage stamp of Afghanistan from 1965 commemorating the 10th anniversary of Ariana. The logo features an Afghan swallow bird and a blue field representing precious lapis lazuli stones; it was personally designed by the then King of Afghanistan, Zahir Shah.^[8]

The airline was set up on 27 January 1955.^[9] It was established as Aryana Airlines with the assistance of Indamer Co. Ltd., which initially held a 49% stake, and the government of Afghanistan owned the balance.^[10] At the beginning, services were operated to Bahrain, India, Iran, and Lebanon, with a fleet of three Douglas DC-3s.^[10] In 1957, Pan American World Airways became the minor shareholder of the airline when it took over the 49% interest from Indamer.^[11] Domestic scheduled services started the same year.^[11] By April 1960 (1960-04), a fleet of three DC-3s was being used for linking Kabul with Amritsar, Delhi, Jeddah, and Karachi, as well as with some points within Afghanistan, while a single DC-4 operated the Kabul–Kandahar–Tehran–Damascus–Beirut–Ankara–Prague–Frankfurt service, the so-called "Marco Polo" route.^[11] In the early 1960s, US$1,100,000 (equivalent to $12,000,000 in 2024) from US aid to Afghanistan was used to capitalise the company.^[12]

By March 1970 (1970-03), the airline had 650 employees. At this time, the fleet comprised one Boeing 727-100C, one CV-440, one DC-3 and two Douglas DC-6s that worked on routes serving the Middle East, India, Pakistan, the USSR, and Istanbul, Frankfurt, and London.^[13] Domestic services were then operated by Bakhtar Alwatana, which was established by the government in 1967 for this purpose.^[14]

An Ariana Afghan Airlines DC-10-30 on approach to London Heathrow Airport in 1980. Throughout its history, the airline operated a single aircraft of the type that was sold in the mid-1980s, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.^[15]

The carrier's first widebody aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, entered the fleet in early October 1979 (1979-10).^[16] By March 1985 (1985-03), the aircraft fleet consisted of the DC-10 and two Boeing 727-100Cs.^[17] In the mid-1980s, during the Soviet–Afghan War, the carrier was forced to sell the DC-10 to British Caledonian, as the Soviets wanted the carrier to fly the Tupolev Tu-154 as a replacement.^[15] In October 1985 (1985-10), Ariana was taken over by Bakhtar Afghan Airlines, which became the country's new national airline.^[14][18] In 1986, Bakhtar ordered two Tupolev Tu-154Ms;^[19] the airline took possession of these aircraft in April 1987 (1987-04).^[18] In February 1988 (1988-02), Bakhtar was merged back into Ariana, thus creating an airline which could serve both short and long haul routes.^{[20][additional citation(s) needed]}

Operational crisis

An Ariana Afghan Airlines Tupolev Tu-154M in 1992.

Following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 1996 and the proclamation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the country 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. With no overseas assets, by 1999 Ariana's international operations consisted of flights to Dubai only;^[21] also, limited cargo flights continued into China's western provinces. However, sanctions imposed by UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in November 1999 forced the airline to suspend overseas operations.^[22][23] In November 2001 (2001-11), Ariana was grounded completely.^[24]

According to the Los Angeles Times:^[25]

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.^[26]

21st century

An Ariana Afghan Airlines Airbus A300B4-200 seen on approach to Frankfurt Airport in 2003. With registration YA-BAD this aircraft was written off as a result of an overrun episode at Istanbul Atatürk Airport in March 2007 (2007-03).^[27][28]

Following the overthrow of the Taliban government during Operation Enduring Freedom, Ariana began to rebuild its operations in December 2001 (2001-12).^[29][30] About a month later, the UN sanctions were finally lifted, permitting the airline to resume international routes again.^[31] In 2002, the government of India gave the carrier a gift of three ex-Air India Airbus A300s.^[23][32][33] Ariana's first international passenger flight since 1999 landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in January 2002 (2002-01),^[34] followed by routes to Pakistan and Germany in June and October the same year, respectively.^[35][36][37] In 2005, India signed an agreement on aviation cooperation with Afghanistan, with Air India training 50 officials for Ariana.^[38]

EU ban

Due to safety regulations, Ariana was mostly banned from flying into European Union airspace in March 2006 (2006-03), with the European Commission allowing the carrier to fly only a single France-registered Airbus A310 into the member states;^[39][40] the ban was extended to the entire fleet in October of that year.^[41] The ban was confirmed in subsequent updates of the list released in late 2009 and March 2010 (2010-03).^[42][43] In November 2010 (2010-11), all Afghanistan-registered aircraft were banned from operating in the European Union.^[44][45] Ariana is still included in the list as of December 2024^[update].^[46]

Taliban takeover

All commercial flights were cancelled following the Taliban taking over the capital city of Kabul in 2021.^[47] Domestic flights resumed in September.^[48]

Destinations

As of September 2023^[update], Ariana Afghan Airlines served five domestic and eight international destinations in Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, India, Pakistan, and China; most of the routes radiate from Kabul.^[49]

Fleet

Ariana Afghan Airlines Airbus A310-300

Former Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 727-200 Advanced

Former Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 737-800

Current fleet

As of July 2023^[update] the Ariana Afghan Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:^[50]

Ariana Afghan Airlines fleet

Aircraft	In fleet	Orders	Passengers[citation needed]			Notes
			C	Y	Total
Airbus A310-300	3	—	12	230	230
Boeing 737-400	2	—	8	134	142
Boeing 737-500	1	—	8	148	156
Total	6	—

Historical fleet

Ariana operated the following equipment all through its history:^[51]

• Airbus A300B4^[52]
• Airbus A310-200
• Airbus A320-200^[53]
• Airbus A321-100
• Antonov An-12BP
• Antonov An-12T
• Antonov An-24^[52]
• Antonov An-24B
• Antonov An-24RV
• Antonov An-26
• Antonov An-26B
• Boeing 707-120B
• Boeing 707-320C
• Boeing 720B
• Boeing 727-100C^[13]
• Boeing 727-200^[52]
• Boeing 727-200F^[52]
• Boeing 737-300
• Boeing 737-800
• Boeing 747-200B
• Boeing 757-200
• Convair CV-440
• Douglas C-47
• Douglas C-47A
• Douglas C-54B
• Douglas C-54G
• Douglas DC-4
• Douglas DC-6A
• McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30^[16]
• Tupolev Tu-134
• Tupolev Tu-154B
• Tupolev Tu-154M
• Yakovlev Yak-40

Accidents and incidents

According to Aviation Safety Network, as of October 2012^[update] Ariana Afghan Airlines has written off 19 aircraft involved in 13 events, seven of them being deadly. Casualties totaled 154 deaths.^[54] The following list includes occurrences that led to at least one fatality, resulted in a write-off of the aircraft involved, or both.

Date	Location	Aircraft	Tail number	Aircraft damage	Fatalities	Description	Refs
2 November 1959	Greece	Douglas C-47A	YA-AAD	W/O	Un­known	Un­known	[55]
21 November 1959	Off Beirut	DC-4	YA-BAG	W/O	24/27	Crashed shortly after takeoff from Beirut International Airport, during initial climbout. The aircraft was due to operate the second leg of an international scheduled Frankfurt–Beirut–Tehran–Kandahar–Kabul passenger service as Flight 202.	[56]
5 January 1969	London	Boeing 727-100C	YA-FAR	W/O	50	Crashed on approach to London Gatwick Airport when attempting to land in dense fog as it descended below the glideslope. Forty-eight people were killed on the plane, as well as two on the ground. The aircraft was completing an international scheduled Kabul–Kandahar–Beirut–Istanbul–Frankfurt–London passenger service as Flight 701.	[57]
15 January 1969	Kabul	Douglas C-47DL	YA-BAD	W/O	Un­known	Ground collision.	[58]
10 December 1988	Pakistan	An-26	Un­known	W/O	25/25	The aircraft was shot down by Pakistani fighters when it was flying a domestic Khost–Kabul passenger service.	[59]
18 June 1989	Zabol	An-26	YA-BAK	W/O	6/39	Crashed into a hill when attempting to land at Zabol Airport following an in-flight opening of the ramp door. The aircraft was operating a domestic scheduled Kabul–Zaranj passenger service.	[60]
1 August 1992	Kabul	Tu-154M	YA-TAP	W/O	0/0	Destroyed by a rocket while sitting at Kabul Airport.	[61]
28 August 1992	Kabul	An-26	YA-BAN	W/O	Un­known		[62]
11 September 1995	Jalalabad	An-26B	YA-BAO	W/O	3/46	The aircraft was completing a domestic scheduled Kabul–Jalalabad passenger service when it apparently ran out of fuel, crashing on approach to Jalalabad Airport.	[63]
29 October 1997	Jalalabad	Yak-40	YA-KAE	W/O	1	Crashed on landing at Jalalabad Airport.	[64]
19 March 1998	Charasyab	Boeing 727-200	YA-FAZ	W/O	45/45	Crashed in bad weather into mountainous terrain on approach to Kabul Airport. It was completing the last leg of an international non-scheduled Sharjah–Kabul–Kandahar passenger service.	[65][66]
October 2001	Kabul	An-12B	YA-DAA	W/O	0/0	Destroyed during a U.S. bombing raid.	[67]
		An-12BK	YA-DAB	W/O	0/0		[68]
		An-24	Un­known	W/O	0/0		[69]
		An-24B	YA-DAH	W/O	0/0		[70]
		An-24RV	YA-DAJ	W/O	0/0		[71]
		Boeing 727-100C	YA-FAU	W/O	0/0		[72]
		Boeing 727-100C	YA-FAW	W/O	0/0		[73]
23 March 2007	Istanbul	A300B4-200	YA-BAD	W/O	0	Overran the runway on landing at Istanbul Atatürk Airport.	[27][28][74]
8 May 2014	Kabul	Boeing 737-4Y0	YA-PIB	W/O	0	Slid off the runway on landing at Kabul Airport.	[75]

See also

• List of government-owned airlines
• Transport in Afghanistan