Bakhtar Afghan Airlines

Bakhtar Afghan Airlines is an airline from Afghanistan, which offers domestic flights. The company was founded in 1967 as Bakhtar Airlines, a name it kept until 1985, when it was renamed Bakhtar Afghan Airlines by Pashtun governments. In 1985 the company absorbed Ariana Afghan Airlines and became Afghanistan's sole airline company.[2] In 1988 the Ariana and Bakhtar brands merged. However, the airline relaunched in 2020.

Bakhtar Afghan Airlines
IATA ICAO Callsign
BM[1] BFO Bakhtar
Founded1967 (as Bakhtar Afghan Airlines)
Ceased operations1988 (merged into Ariana Afghan Airlines)
Relaunched in 2020, operating by Ariana Afghan Airlines
Operating basesKabul International Airport
HeadquartersAfghanistan
Websitehttps://bakhtarairline.com/

Destinations
A Boeing 727 of Bakhtar Afghan Airlines at Frankfurt Airport in the late 1980s.

Bakhtar Afghan Airlines offer scheduled flights to the following destinations:[3]

Flights were operated using Yakovlev Yak-40 or de Havilland Twin Otter aircraft.

Accidents and incidents
  • On 25 January 1972, a Bakhtar Yakovlev Yak-40 (registered YA-KAD) was damaged beyond repair when its hit trees during approach of Khost Airfield near the Afghan town of Khost.[4]
  • On 18 April 1973, a Bakhtar Twin Otter (registered YA-GAT) carrying 16 passengers (most of whom were American or Canadian citizens) crashed upon take-off at Bamyan Airport, killing two passengers and two of the three crew members on board.[5]
  • On 10 March 1983, a Bakhtar Twin Otter (registered YA-GAZ) operating a domestic flight from Kabul to Uruzgan crashed during a thunderstorm near the town of Ghazni, killing all 17 passengers and 2 crew members on board.[6]
  • On 8 January 1985, another Bakhtar Twin Otter (registered YA-GAY) was damaged beyond repair in a landing incident at Bamyan Airport. There were no fatalities among the 17 passengers and 3 crew members.[7]
  • On 4 September 1985 (during the Soviet–Afghan War), a Bakhtar Antonov An-26 (registered YA-BAM) was shot down by a ground-air missile near Kandahar. The aircraft was carrying 47 passengers and 5 crew members and had been on a scheduled flight from Kandahar to Farah. There were no survivors.[8]
  • On 11 June 1987, another Bakhtar An-26 (registered YA-BAL) was shot down by a missile near Khost, killing 53 out of the 55 people on board. The aircraft had been on a flight from Kandahar to Kabul. Rebels thought the aircraft was a military Ilyushin Il-14.[9]

2020-2021 relaunch

Bakhtar Airlines was relaunched in 2020 for domestic flights. The new company operates a single Boeing 737-500 leased from Ariana Afghan Airlines.

References
  1. 5th Information on Bakhtar Airlines at the Aviation Safety Network
  2. Flight International. 23 May 1987. 5.
  3. Bakhtar 1975 timetable
  4. Bakhtar 1972 incident at the Aviation Safety Network
  5. Bakhtar 1973 crash at the Aviation Safety Network
  6. Bakhtar 1983 accident at the Aviation Safety Network
  7. 1985 Bakhtar incident at the Aviation Safety Network
  8. 1985 Bakhtar shoot-down incident at the Aviation Safety Network
  9. Bakhtar 1987 shoot-down incident at the Aviation Safety Network

Media related to Bakhtar Afghan Airlines at Wikimedia Commons

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