Afghanistan Benefits as Airlines Divert Through Its Airspace to Avoid Iran
- Diversions come after downing of Ukrainian jetliner killed 176
- Switch has boosted Kabul’s aviation revenues by $100,000 a day
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Afghanistan, one of the world’s poorest countries, is benefiting from an unexpected windfall in the wake of Iran’s downing of a Ukrainian jetliner in a missile barrage earlier this month.
With many international airlines still reluctant to fly over Iran in the wake of the Jan. 8 tragedy, its neighbor is benefiting as planes divert through Afghan airspace, generating fees of $700 a trip in the process.