Afghan Sky Remains Unsafe

With the existence of the Americans and allied militaryEuropean Union banned several airliners from flying into
forces in Afghanistan since last few years we haveEurope due to safety issues, declaring then unsafe by
experienced a minor advantage towards the societyinternational standards. The Afghan Airlines are one of
as safety is their priority, however not a hint of this hasthe few included in the blacklist. These airlines have
altered the aviation sector in Afghanistan.been banned from flying into European Union countries
We are able to hear the roar of airliners or catch afor failing to meet safety standards according to an
glimpse of the contrails from a far distance but lessEU list published.
we know how unsafe the hands flying those airlinersThere is no doubt they hold major flying licenses but
are. It's a fact that there are no proper flying schoolsthey are all on basis of simulator training. No such
or educated and licensed flying instructors inevidence of flying school and flight training has been
Afghanistan.recorded for the Afghan pilots even though the
The question arises how are they flying today? TheMinistry of Civil Aviation has been receiving financial aid
majority of commercial pilots flying for the governmentand support from other countries to help them move
based or private airlines are unqualified and have beentowards the international standards.
accepted as flying commanders because they had aToday private airlines are flying with no legal standards
bond with the powerful authorities at the ministry ofand procedures and it is obvious the reason is
civil aviation and gained permission for the conversionunqualified employees in the Ministry of Civil Aviation
of their counterfeit licenses on bases of bribery, whichare taking control and approving new airlines to
today allows them to fly commercial aircrafts. Theoperate. However it is time to be serious and consider
major dilemma is their lack of English proficiency whichsafety as an urgent priority. They must introduce and
increases the risk factor during an emergency. Afghanplace proper flight training centre with qualified and
aviation airlines are known for their poor quality ofcertified instructors to provide sufficient training and
maintenance, their aircraft checks and crew trainingeducate the pilots to ensure the skies are safe for
and there is high risk they will encounter trouble in antravelling.
unlikely event of an emergency onboard. Recently the