PIA suspends Kabul flights ‘indefinitely’ after Taliban takeover

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national carrier has suspended its flight operations with Kabul, a spokesperson for the airline said on Monday, a day after the Taliban took over Afghanistan.
Media reported that five people were killed at Kabul airport as hundreds tried to forcibly enter planes leaving the Afghan capital.
Pakistan’s decision to suspect flights was taken due to a lack of adequate security and staff at Kabul airport and because crowds were overrunning the runway, Pakistan International Airlines ​said.
“Due to the uncertain security situation at Kabul airport, PIA has suspended its flights,” a spokesperson for the airline said, adding that the decision was taken after consultation with the foreign ministry and the Afghan civil aviation authority and to ensure the “safety of passengers, staff and assets.”
The Taliban overran Kabul and took control of Afghanistan on Sunday, entering the presidential palace as President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, saying he had left to “prevent a flood of bloodshed.”
Ghani did not say where he had relocated to but leading Afghan media outlet Tolo News reported that he was in Tajikistan.
On Sunday, the streets of Kabul were choked with cars and pedestrians rushing to the airport.
“Some people have left their keys in the car and have started walking to the airport,” one resident told Arab News.
Hundreds of Afghans, including government ministers, employees and civilian women and children, barged into the airport terminal building, desperate to board outbound flights.
“The airport is out of control,” an airport official said. “The Afghan government just sold us out.”