Shops close, security guards flee Kabul while airlines reroute to avoid Afghan airspace

Kabul’s streets were deserted early on Monday, a day after Taliban insurgents took over the Afghanistan capital without a fight, but the airport was jammed with hundreds of civilians trying to flee.

Unverified pictures on social media showed hundreds of people scampering with their luggage toward the safety of the airport terminal with the sound of gunfire breaking out. There was no immediate word of any casualties.

Government offices were empty, residents said.

The Wazir Akbar Khan embassy district was deserted with almost all diplomats and their families either flown out of the city or at the airport awaiting a flight.

There were few guards left at the checkpoints in the usually heavily fortified area – some motorists were getting out of their cars to lift barriers at the checkpoints before driving through.

“It is strange to sit here and see empty streets, no more busy diplomatic convoys, big cars with guns mounted,” said Gul Mohammed Hakim, one the city’s ubiquitous naan (bread) makers who has a shop in the area.

“I will be here baking bread, but will earn very small amounts of money. The security guards who were my friends, they are gone.”

He had no customers yet, said, and was still heating his tandoor (clay oven) in anticipation.

“My first concern was to grow my beard and how to grow it fast,” Hakim added. “I also checked with my wife if there were enough burqas for her and the girls.”

During the Taliban’s 1996-2001 rule, men were not permitted to trim their beards and women were required to wear the all-enveloping burqa cloak in public.

In the city’s Chicken Street, the scores of shops for Afghan carpets, handicraft and jewellery, as well as small cafes, were closed.

Sherzad Karim Stanekzai, who owns a carpet and textiles store, said he decided to sleep inside his shuttered shop to protect his goods.

“I am in a complete state of shock. The Taliban entering that scared me, but (President Ashraf) Ghani leaving all of us in this situation has been the worst,” he said.

“I lost three brothers in seven years in this war, now I have to protect my business.”

He said had no idea where his next customers would come from. “I know there will no foreigners, no international people who will now come to Kabul,” he said.

A Taliban leader said his fighters had been “ordered to allow Afghans to resume daily activities and do nothing to scare civilians.”

“Normal life will continue in a much better way, that’s all I can say for now,” he told Reuters via Whatsapp.

Airlines reroute flights to avoid Afghanistan airspace

Major airlines are rerouting flights to avoid Afghanistan airspace after insurgents took control of the presidential palace in Kabul as U.S.-led forces departed and Western nations scrambled on Monday to evacuate their citizens.

United Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic said they were not using the country’s airspace.

A United spokeswoman said the change affects several of the airline’s U.S.-to-India flights.

Flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 showed few commercial flights over Afghanistan at 0300 GMT on Monday but many planes overflying neighbouring Pakistan and Iran.

Airlines and governments have paid more attention to the risks of flying over conflict zones in recent years after two deadly incidents involving surface-to-air missiles.

A Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 people on board, and an Ukraine International Airlines jet was downed by Iran’s military in 2020, killing all 176 passengers and crew.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in July imposed new flight restrictions over Afghanistan for U.S. airlines and other U.S. operators.

The FAA said flights operating below 26,000 feet were prohibited in the Kabul Flight Information Region, which largely covers Afghanistan, unless operating in and out of Hamid Karzai International Airport, citing the risk “posed by extremist/militant activity.”

The restrictions do not apply to U.S. military operations.

Other countries, including Canada, Britain, Germany and France had also advised airlines to maintain an altitude of at least 25,000 feet over Afghanistan, according to website Safe Airspace, which tracks such warnings.

Korean Air Lines said some of its cargo flights were using Afghanistan airspace, though its passenger flights were not.

“Due to the situation in Afghanistan, we are flying our cargo flights at higher altitudes and avoiding flying at lower altitudes,” a spokesperson said. “We are closely monitoring the situation and we plan to review shifting our routes if necessary.”

Taiwan’s China Airlines said it was keeping an eye on the situation and would adjust flight paths if needed in accordance with U.S. and European Union airspace instructions. It did not elaborate.

Commercial flights set to land in Afghanistan have also been affected by the chaos on the ground. Emirates has suspended flights to Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, until further notice, the airline said on its website.