خبر ها - بازرگانی

Afghanistan will not approve the "Open Airspace" suggestion for foreign airline companies in the country, the Minister of Transport and Aviation said on Tuesday.

Afghan Minister of Transport and Aviation, Dawood Ali Najafi, made the comments during the inauguration ceremony of the Union of Airliners in Afghanistan on Wednesday, attended by representatives of foreign airline companies in the country.

The Ministry said it will hold soon a meeting with representatives of foreign airline companies in the United Arab Emirates.

It said it was making efforts to get Afghan flights resumed to the EU and that discussions had started with EU officials.

"We will have our next meeting with representatives of foreign airliners in the UAE. We are of course against the open airspace system for foreign airlines in Afghanistan," Mr Najafi said.

He said he will soon send a report to the EU about the safety of domestic flights.

Meanwhile, the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries said the establishment of the new union was aimed at facilitating better coordination among airline companies in Afghanistan and reducing flight fares to offer better services.

Head of the Chamber, Qurban Haqjo, said the Afghan airline companies were highly vulnerable to the competition of foreign airline companies.

The Council of Ministers in one of its recent meetings suggested the open airspace system to be considered. The open airspace system allows unlimited flights of foreign airlines to Afghanistan.

There are currently 25 airline companies active in Afghanistan out of which five are owned by Afghans, according to officials.