Editing Ariana Afghan Airlines (section)

===Operational crisis===
[[File:Ariana Afghan Airlines Tupolev Tu-154M Haafke.jpg|thumb|left|An Ariana Afghan Airlines [[Tupolev Tu-154|Tupolev Tu-154M]] in 1992.]]
Following the [[Battle of Kabul (1992–1996)|fall of Kabul to the Taliban]] in 1996 and the proclamation of the [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|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-26]]s, [[Yakovlev Yak-40]]s and three [[Boeing 727]]s, 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;<ref name="U.S. Presses Security Council for Sanctions Against the Taliban" /> 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.<ref name="Ariana: Flying in the face of adversity" /><ref name="India offers planes to Afghan airline" /> In {{start date|2001|11}}, Ariana was grounded completely.<ref name="Afghan airline grounded" />

According to the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'':<ref name="Long Before Sept. 11, Bin Laden Aircraft Flew Under the Radar" />
{{quote|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.<ref>{{cite news|title=On the Trail of a Man Behind Taliban's Air Fleet |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=19 May 2002 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-may-19-ad-bout-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811010412/http://articles.latimes.com/print/2002/may/19/news/ad-bout |archive-date=11 August 2014 }}&nbsp;</ref>