Ariana Afghan Airlines

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox airline Ariana Afghan Airlines Co. Ltd. (Template:Langx) also known simply as Ariana, is the flag carrier and largest airline of Afghanistan.<ref name="EU To Impose Ban On Afghan Planes"/><ref name="Piloting Afghanistan to a prosperous future" /> Founded in 1955, Ariana is state owned and the oldest airline in the country.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>"Contact Us." (Archive) Ariana Afghan Airlines. Retrieved on 30 April 2013. "Ariana Afghan Airlines (Corporate Headquarters) Char-Rahi Shaheed, Shahr-e-Naw, P.O.Box # 76, Kabul, Afghanistan"</ref><ref>Template:Cite web "P.O. Box 76, Kabul, Afghanistan"</ref> Ariana Afghan Airlines has been on the list of air carriers banned in the European Union Template:As of.

History

Early years

File:Stamp of Afghanistan - 1965 - Colnect 483160 - Douglas DC 3 and Emblem.jpeg

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The airline was set up on 27 January 1955.<ref name="Addendum"/> 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.<ref name="Flight1957"/> At the beginning, services were operated to Bahrain, India, Iran, and Lebanon, with a fleet of three Douglas DC-3s.<ref name="Flight1957"/> In 1957, Pan American World Airways became the minor shareholder of the airline when it took over the 49% interest from Indamer.<ref name="Flight1960"/> Domestic scheduled services started the same year.<ref name="Flight1960"/> By Template:Start date, 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.<ref name="Flight1960"/> In the early 1960s, Template:US$ from US aid to Afghanistan was used to capitalise the company.<ref name="Flight1960-27"/>

By Template:Start date, 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.<ref name="FI1970-472" /> Domestic services were then operated by Bakhtar Alwatana, which was established by the government in 1967 for this purpose.<ref name="FI1988-54"/>

File:Ariana Afghan Airlines DC-10-30 YA-LAS 1980-8-10.png

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.<ref name="USSR forced Ariana DC-10 sale"/>

The carrier's first widebody aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, entered the fleet in early Template:Start date.<ref name="FI1979-1262"/> By Template:Start date, the aircraft fleet consisted of the DC-10 and two Boeing 727-100Cs.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref name="USSR forced Ariana DC-10 sale"/> In Template:Start date, Ariana was taken over by Bakhtar Afghan Airlines, which became the country's new national airline.<ref name="FI1988-54"/><ref name="FI1987-5"/> In 1986, Bakhtar ordered two Tupolev Tu-154Ms;<ref name="FI1986-6"/> the airline took possession of these aircraft in Template:Start date.<ref name="FI1987-5"/> In Template:Start date, Bakhtar was merged back into Ariana, thus creating an airline which could serve both short and long haul routes.<ref name="FI1989-58"/>Template:Additional citation needed

Operational crisis

File:Ariana Afghan Airlines Tupolev Tu-154M Haafke.jpg

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;<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 Template:Start date, 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" /> Template:Quote

According to people interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, Viktor Bout's companies helped in running the airline.<ref>Template:Cite news </ref>

21st century

File:Ariana Afghan Airlines A300B4-200 YA-BAD FRA 2003-5-7.png

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 Template:Start date.<ref name="Ariana A300 overruns while landing at Istanbul Ataturk"/><ref name="Pictures: Ariana A300 skids off Istanbul runway"/>

Following the overthrow of the Taliban government during Operation Enduring Freedom, Ariana began to rebuild its operations in Template:Start date.<ref name="Afghan airline battles for the skies"/><ref name="Afghan airline returns to the skies"/> About a month later, the UN sanctions were finally lifted, permitting the airline to resume international routes again.<ref name="Expansion under way as Ariana takes A300"/> In 2002, the government of India gave the carrier a gift of three ex-Air India Airbus A300s.<ref name="India offers planes to Afghan airline"/><ref name="India gifts third airbus to Afghanistan"/><ref name="Ariana set to take delivery of first Indian A300"/> Ariana's first international passenger flight since 1999 landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Template:Start date,<ref name="Ariana resumes operations with New Delhi flight"/> followed by routes to Pakistan and Germany in June and October the same year, respectively.<ref name="Ariana Afghan back on Western Europe route"/><ref name="Routes"/><ref name="Ariana launches Pakistan link"/> In 2005, India signed an agreement on aviation cooperation with Afghanistan, with Air India training 50 officials for Ariana.<ref name="Indo-Afghan ties touch new high"/>

EU ban

Due to safety regulations, Ariana was mostly banned from flying into European Union airspace in Template:Start date, with the European Commission allowing the carrier to fly only a single France-registered Airbus A310 into the member states;<ref name="Painted Black: a study of the EU unsafe airlines ban" /><ref name="Africa bears brunt of European Union blacklist"/> the ban was extended to the entire fleet in October of that year.<ref name="EC updates blacklist"/> The ban was confirmed in subsequent updates of the list released in late 2009 and Template:Start date.<ref name="Other News - 12/01/2009" /><ref name="New EU blacklist features Iran Air, Philippine carriers"/> In Template:Start date, all Afghanistan-registered aircraft were banned from operating in the European Union.<ref name="New airlines added to EU blacklist"/><ref name="EC bans Afghan airlines from European airspace"/> Ariana is still included in the list Template:As of.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Taliban takeover

All commercial flights were cancelled following the Taliban taking over the capital city of Kabul in August of 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Domestic flights resumed in September.<ref name="Kabul airport reopens to receive aid, domestic flights restart">Template:Cite news</ref>

Destinations

Template:As of, 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Fleet

File:Ariana Afghan Airlines A310-300 YA-CAV SVO 2010-1-4.png

Ariana Afghan Airlines Airbus A310-300

File:Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 727-200Adv YA-FAY DXB 2007-9-21.png

Former Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 727-200 Advanced

File:Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 737-800 Ates-1.jpg

Former Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 737-800

Current fleet

Template:As of the Ariana Afghan Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ariana Afghan Airlines fleet

Aircraft	In fleet	Orders	PassengersTemplate:Fact			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:<ref name="ATDB"/> Template:Div col

• Airbus A300B4<ref name="Ariana Afghanistan puts bulk of mothballed fleet up for sale" />
• Airbus A310-200
• Airbus A320-200<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Airbus A321-100
• Antonov An-12BP
• Antonov An-12T
• Antonov An-24<ref name="Ariana Afghanistan puts bulk of mothballed fleet up for sale" />
• Antonov An-24B
• Antonov An-24RV
• Antonov An-26
• Antonov An-26B
• Boeing 707-120B
• Boeing 707-320C
• Boeing 720B
• Boeing 727-100C<ref name="FI1970-472" />
• Boeing 727-200<ref name="Ariana Afghanistan puts bulk of mothballed fleet up for sale" />
• Boeing 727-200F<ref name="Ariana Afghanistan puts bulk of mothballed fleet up for sale" />
• 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<ref name="FI1979-1262"/>
• Tupolev Tu-134
• Tupolev Tu-154B
• Tupolev Tu-154M
• Yakovlev Yak-40

Accidents and incidents

According to Aviation Safety Network, Template:As of Ariana Afghan Airlines has written off 19 aircraft involved in 13 events, seven of them being deadly. Casualties totaled 154 deaths.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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
Template:Dts	Template:Flag	Template:Nowrap	YA-AAD	W/O	Template:Unknown	Template:Unknown	<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
Template:Dts	Template:Nowrap	DC-4	YA-BAG	W/O	Template:Nts/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.	<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon London	Boeing 727-100C	YA-FAR	W/O	Template:Nts	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.	<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Kabul	Template:Nowrap	YA-BAD	W/O	Template:Unknown	Ground collision.	<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
Template:Dts	Template:PAK	An-26	Template:Unknown	W/O	Template:Nts/25	The aircraft was shot down by Pakistani fighters when it was flying a domestic Khost–Kabul passenger service.	<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Zabol	An-26	YA-BAK	W/O	Template:Nts/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.	<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Kabul	Tu-154M	YA-TAP	W/O	Template:Nts/0	Destroyed by a rocket while sitting at Kabul Airport.	<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Kabul	An-26	YA-BAN	W/O	Template:Unknown		<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Jalalabad	Template:Nowrap	YA-BAO	W/O	Template:Nts/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.	<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
Template:Dts	Template:Flagdeco Jalalabad	Template:Nowrap	YA-KAE	W/O	Template:Nts	Crashed on landing at Jalalabad Airport.	<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
Template:Dts	Template:Nowrap	Template:Nowrap	YA-FAZ	W/O	Template:Nts/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.	<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref><ref>Template:Cite news </ref>
Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Kabul	An-12B	YA-DAA	W/O	Template:Nts/0	Destroyed during a U.S. bombing raid.	<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
		An-12BK	YA-DAB	W/O	Template:Nts/0		<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
		An-24	Template:Unknown	W/O	Template:Nts/0		<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
		An-24B	YA-DAH	W/O	Template:Nts/0		<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
		An-24RV	YA-DAJ	W/O	Template:Nts/0		<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
		Template:Nowrap	YA-FAU	W/O	Template:Nts/0		<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
		Boeing 727-100C	YA-FAW	W/O	Template:Nts/0		<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Istanbul	Template:Nowrap	YA-BAD	W/O	Template:Nts	Overran the runway on landing at Istanbul Atatürk Airport.	<ref name="Ariana A300 overruns while landing at Istanbul Ataturk"/><ref name="Pictures: Ariana A300 skids off Istanbul runway"/><ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>
Template:Dts	Template:Flagicon Kabul	Template:Nowrap	YA-PIB	W/O	Template:Nts	Slid off the runway on landing at Kabul Airport.	<ref>Template:ASN accident</ref>

See also

• List of government-owned airlines
• Transport in Afghanistan

External links

• Template:Commons category-inline
• Official website