Bakhtar Afghan Airlines is an airline from Afghanistan, which offers domestic flights. The company was founded in 1967 as Bakhtar Airlines, a name it kept until 1985, when it was renamed Bakhtar Afghan Airlines by Pashtun governments. [citation needed] In 1985 the company absorbed Ariana Afghan Airlines and became Afghanistan's sole airline company.[2] In 1988 the Ariana and Bakhtar brands merged. However, the airline relaunched in 2020.[citation needed]
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| Founded | 1967 (as Bakhtar Afghan Airlines) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceased operations | 1988 (merged into Ariana Afghan Airlines) Relaunched in 2020, operating by Ariana Afghan Airlines | ||||||
| Operating bases | Kabul International Airport | ||||||
| Headquarters | Afghanistan | ||||||
| Website | https://bakhtarairline.com/ | ||||||
Destinations edit
Bakhtar Afghan Airlines offer scheduled flights to the following destinations:[3]
- Bamyan – Bamyan Airport
- Chaghcharan – Chaghcharan Airport
- Darwaz – Darwaz Airport
- Fayzabad – Fayzabad Airport
- Herat – Herat Airfield
- Jeddah - King Abdulaziz International Airport
- Kabul – Kabul International Airport (base)
- Kunduz – Kunduz Airport
- Khwahan – Khwahan Airport
- Maymana – Maymana Airport
- Mazar-i-Sharif – Mazar-i-Sharif Airport
- Shegnan – Sheghnan Airport
Flights were operated using Yakovlev Yak-40 or de Havilland Twin Otter aircraft.
Accidents and incidents edit
- On 25 January 1972, a Bakhtar Yakovlev Yak-40 (registered YA-KAD) was damaged beyond repair when its hit trees during approach of Khost Airfield near the Afghan town of Khost.[4]
- On 18 April 1973, a Bakhtar Twin Otter (registered YA-GAT) carrying 16 passengers (most of whom were American or Canadian citizens) crashed upon take-off at Bamyan Airport, killing two passengers and two of the three crew members on board.[5]
- On 10 March 1983, a Bakhtar Twin Otter (registered YA-GAZ) operating a domestic flight from Kabul to Uruzgan crashed during a thunderstorm near the town of Ghazni, killing all 17 passengers and 2 crew members on board.[6]
- On 8 January 1985, another Bakhtar Twin Otter (registered YA-GAY) was damaged beyond repair in a landing incident at Bamyan Airport. There were no fatalities among the 17 passengers and 3 crew members.[7]
- On 4 September 1985 (during the Soviet–Afghan War), a Bakhtar Antonov An-26 (registered YA-BAM) was shot down by a ground-air missile near Kandahar. The aircraft was carrying 47 passengers and 5 crew members and had been on a scheduled flight from Kandahar to Farah. There were no survivors.[8]
- On 11 June 1987, another Bakhtar An-26 (registered YA-BAL) was shot down by a missile near Khost, killing 53 out of the 55 people on board. The aircraft had been on a flight from Kandahar to Kabul. Rebels thought the aircraft was a military Ilyushin Il-14.[9]
2020-2021 relaunch edit
Bakhtar Airlines was relaunched in 2020 for domestic flights. The new company operates a single Boeing 737-500 leased from Ariana Afghan Airlines.
References edit
- ^ 5th Information on Bakhtar Airlines at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ Flight International. 23 May 1987. 5.
- ^ Bakhtar 1975 timetable
- ^ Bakhtar 1972 incident at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ Bakhtar 1973 crash at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ Bakhtar 1983 accident at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ 1985 Bakhtar incident at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ 1985 Bakhtar shoot-down incident at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ Bakhtar 1987 shoot-down incident at the Aviation Safety Network
External links edit
Media related to Bakhtar Afghan Airlines at Wikimedia Commons
