Home > Ariana Afghan Airlines

1 History

Ariana during the 1970s was considered a top notch airline by many travel experts. The airline at that time had such equipment as DC-10s flying for them. Times looked bright for the airline.

Then after the defeat of the Soviet army in Afghanistan in 1989, and the Taliban regime took over in 1996, Afghanistan faced substantial economic sanctions from the international sector. That, combined with the fact that the Taliban government took over the company and stopped all international flights, affected the airline's economic status through most of the 1990s, a period where their fleet was reduced to only a handful of Russian built AN-26 s, Yakolev YAK-40 s and three Boeing 727s, which were used on the longest domestic routes.

The airline hasn't been devoid of tragedies: In 1954, a Douglas DC-3 of Ariana crashed in Herat, killing all 21 passengers on that flight. In 1969, a Boeing 727 of Ariana was arriving to London Gatwick Airport from Frankfurt International AirportFrankfurt International Airport ( German: Flughafen Frankfurt am Main is located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is the largest airport in Germany and the second or third-largest in Europe (depending which data are used), serving as an important hub for when it crashed into a house, killing 50 of the 66 persons aboard. In 19851985 is a common year starting on Tuesday. Events January events January 1 Creation of the Internet's Domain Name System. January 17 British Telecom annouces they are going to abolish the famous red telephone boxes. January 23 A debate in the House of Lor, an AN-26 of Ariana was shot down by rebels near KandaharKandahr (or Qandahr is a city in southern Afghanistan, the capital of Kandahar province. The province has 567,000 people (based on 1979 data), while the city has around 200,000 (based on a 1989 estimate). It is the second largest city in Afghanistan and m, killing all 52 passengers. In 1989, a 727 had a door opening in the middle of a flight from KabulKabul Kabool Kbool is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan with a population variously estimated at 2 to 4 million. It is an economic and cultural center strategically situated in a narrow valley along the Kabul River, high in the mountains before to ZaranjThe city Zaranji is the capital of the Afghan province of Nimruz located in the southwest of the country close to the Iranian border. It has approx. 70,000 inhabitants and is of significant importance to the trade with neighbouring Iran and Pakistan., and six people got killed when the plane crashed onto a hill. In 19951995 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). It has a Golden number of 1, and was the first year of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995- 2005): http://www. org/culture/indigenous . Events January events Ja, another AN-26 crashed, after running out of gas at JalalabadJalalabad Jallbd is the capital of Nangarhar province in Afghanistan, 150 km east of Kabul near the Khyber Pass. Its population is about 60 000. Seraj-ul-Emart, the residence of Amir Habibullah and King Amanullah was destroyed in 1929; the gardens however, and three passengers died. Another crash, this time of a YAK-40, happened in Jalalabad two years later while landing, and two people died. And in 19981998 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar), and was designated the International Year of the Ocean''. Events January January 1998 A massive ice storm, caused by El Nino, strikes New England, southern Ontario and Quebec, resulting, a 727 from Kandahar to Kabul crashed after hitting a mountain, and all 45 people in it lost their lives.

In February 2000, to escape a Taliban death squad, nine men, led by brothers Ali Safi and Mohammed Safi , hijacked a Boeing 727 containing more than 180 people. The plane was diverted through Central Asia and Russia before landing at Stansted Airport north of London, where the hijacking ended four days later with a peaceful surrender. The men were convicted in December 2001 of hijacking, false imprisonment and weapons offenses. They each served sentences of between 27 and 30 months.

After the Taliban was forced from power in 2001 following the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack, and subsequent U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Ariana once again has been able to fly to international cities, its first international flight in many years landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. According to the airline's management, they are looking forward to re-establishing international service to most other cities it used to serve very soon.

By January 2004, Ariana had a fleet of three Boeing 727s and two India-donated Airbuses with service to a number of cities.