Afghanistan Getting There & Away

Getting There & Away

By plane Khwaja Rawash Airport (IATA: KBL) in Kabul is open but is in extremely poor condition. It is possibly the dirtiest airport in the world. Expect long delays at immigration and baggage reclaim. A new terminal may be built by the Japanese. The national carrier Ariana is flying, now with a small fleet of Airbuses and Boeings (plus one Antonov for old times' sake). Ariana is banned from European air space for safety reasons. They have daily flights from Dubai, and periodic flights from Delhi and Istanbul. Ariana is particularly bad at keeping to schedules. Flights can be cancelled or times changed without notice. A far better option is the independent operator Kam Air which also has daily flights from Dubai and a weekly flight from Almaty. Air Arabia flies 4 times per week from Sharjah - however they have currently suspended operations. An alternative route in may be via Tehran or Mashad in Iran. Iran Air has periodic flights from Tehran and Air India operates two flights a week from Delhi to Kabul. Inland flights to Herat on Kam Air run daily. Flights to other cities such as Mazar-e Sharif MAY be available if you can hook up with the charter company 'PacTec' however seating is very limited. By car Possible from Peshawar, Pakistan via Khyber Pass, from Quetta, Pakistan to Kandahar, from Mashad, Iran to Herat and from Uzbekistan to Mazar-e Sharif. Travelling any of these routes should not be considered safe or secure. In particular, both routes to Pakistan are very dangerous. By bus Buses run regularly between Herat and Mashad, Iran. Afghani buses are pulled apart by Iranian border police for drugs so expect long delays.