Bakhtar Afghan Airlines

Bakhtar Afghan Airlines
IATA ICAO Call sign
BM[1] BFO Bakhtar
Founded1967 (as Bakhtar Afghan Airlines)
Ceased operations1988 (merged into Ariana Afghan Airlines)
Relaunched in 2020, operating by Ariana Afghan Airlines
Operating basesKabul International Airport
HeadquartersAfghanistan
Websitehttps://bakhtarairline.com/

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]

Destinations

A Boeing 727 of Bakhtar Afghan Airlines at Frankfurt Airport in the late 1980s.

Bakhtar Afghan Airlines offer scheduled flights to the following destinations:[3]

Flights were operated using Yakovlev Yak-40 or de Havilland Twin Otter aircraft.

Accidents and incidents

  • 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 surface-to-air missile near Kandahar. The aircraft was carrying 47 passengers and 5 crew members 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 had downed the aircraft, thinking that it was a military Ilyushin Il-14.[9]

2020-2021 relaunch

Bakhtar Airlines was relaunched in 2020 for domestic flights. The new company operates a single Boeing 737-500 leased from Ariana Afghan Airlines.

References

  1. ^ 5th Information on Bakhtar Airlines at the Aviation Safety Network
  2. ^ Flight International. 23 May 1987. 5.
  3. ^ Bakhtar 1975 timetable
  4. ^ Bakhtar 1972 incident at the Aviation Safety Network
  5. ^ Bakhtar 1973 crash at the Aviation Safety Network
  6. ^ Bakhtar 1983 accident at the Aviation Safety Network
  7. ^ 1985 Bakhtar incident at the Aviation Safety Network
  8. ^ 1985 Bakhtar shoot-down incident at the Aviation Safety Network
  9. ^ Bakhtar 1987 shoot-down incident at the Aviation Safety Network

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