The pilots' union has demanded for clear-cut guidelines for flying to Afghanistan and other war-torn countries as such flights “put the life of the crew and passengers in danger”.

As Kabul airport is surrounded by high terrain, there is no special single engine procedure for Kabul which has the approval of ‘Civil Aviation Authority of Afghanistan’. The airspace is not free of conflicting traffic resulting in frequent occurances of traffic advisories and there is no special procedure for unlawful interference as has been devised after the Kandahar hijack of IC814.

Other major issues which is a matter of concern is poor quality of Air Traffic Control in troubled Afghanistan. There have been regular reports of vehicular movement affecting ILS signals, which can be fatal during low visibility.

There is unavailability of topographical maps of the region with the flight crew. The topographical maps are provided to the crew for sectors like Jammu, Srinagar, NorthEast but for a critical sector like Kabul the mandatory requirement is not fulfilled.

Poor quality of the runway at Kabul airport has always been a matter of concern, ICPA maintains. In case of grounding or night stopping there is no measure related to safety and security provided the crew, it notes.