Singapore Airlines, British Airways, and Lufthansa have increased their flights over Afghanistan, a route that had been largely avoided for years due to safety concerns. 

Three years ago, many carriers stopped transiting over Afghanistan after the Taliban took control and air traffic control services ceased. Despite these services not yet resuming, airlines now consider the skies over Afghanistan less risky compared to those between Iran and Israel.

The increased risk in the Middle East is a consequence of tensions following the closure of Russian airspace to most Western carriers after the Ukraine war began in 2022.

Ian Petchenik, spokesperson for the flight tracking organization Flightradar24, noted that “as conflicts have evolved, the calculus of which airspace to use has changed,” leading airlines to view Afghanistan as a relatively safer option given the current geopolitical climate.

According to a Reuters analysis of Flightradar24 data, there were more than seven times the number of flights over Afghanistan in the second week of August compared to the same period a year ago.

This trend started in mid-April, during missile and drone exchanges between Iran and Israel, and accelerated after the killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah in late July, which raised fears of further escalation.