Manama: A Gulf Air plane travelling from Bahrain to Afghanistan on Wednesday was refused permission to land in Kabul by the Civil Aviation Authority, the airline said.
Flight GF742 carrying 117 passengers has returned to Bahrain and the company apologized "for the disruption caused to its passengers and which was beyond its control."
According to Gulf Air, the Afghan authorities have recently told the airline to reduce its flights from four to two per week without justifiable reason and in direct contravention of the bilateral agreement in place between Bahrain and Afghanistan.
Under the accord, Gulf Air was allowed to operate eight flights per week.
"Gulf Air was therefore operating in accordance with its schedule and the bilateral agreements in place between Bahrain and Afghanistan," it said.
"As such the refusal to permit landing directly contravenes the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) agreements and protocols in this regard. Furthermore, none of the other airlines that are operating higher frequencies into Kabul have been subjected to such punitive measures."
Gulf Air said that it was seeking official clarification from the Afghan Civil Aviation Authority. "We hope that the situation will be resolved as quickly as possible."
Gulf Air launched its flights to Kabul on June 15.
At the welcoming reception in Kabul, Mohammad Yaqub Rassuli, President of Kabul International Airport, termed the event as "special."
"Thank God, Kabul airport is today able to welcome very important airlines from the Gulf," he said. "I hope that Gulf Air will soon increase the number of its flights to Kabul from four a week to 10. The company is well recognised and has several networks in various cities. Our passengers will fly safely and securely from Kabul to Bahrain and from Bahrain to the world," he said.
