Pamir Airways

Pamir Airways was a privately owned airline headquartered in Kabul, Afghanistan,[1] operating scheduled passenger flights out of Kabul International Airport. The company name is derived from the Pamir Mountains and translates "roof of the world".

Pamir Airways
IATA ICAO Callsign
PM PIR PAMIR
Founded1994
Commenced operations1995
Ceased operations2011
HubsKabul International Airport
Fleet size5 (upon closure)
Destinations10 (upon closure)
HeadquartersKabul, Afghanistan
Key peopleSherkhan Farnood (Chairman)
Websitepamirairways.af

History

As the first private airline in the history of the country, Pamir Airways was issued an Air Operator's Certificate in 1994[1] by the authorities then in charge of civil aviation in the Islamic State of Afghanistan. Flight operations were launched in 1995 with an initial fleet of one Boeing 707-300 and two Antonov An-12 aircraft.

In April 2008, Pamir Airways was taken over by a group of Afghan businessmen under the leadership of Sherkhan Farnood, the president of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce & Industries and former chairman of Kabul Bank, who subsequently became chairman of the airline. Following the investment, Pamir Airways received a loan for $98 million from Kabul Bank, which was later exposed as one having indescribably poor lending standards (e.g. little to no interest required, no collateral required and repayment essentially optional)[2] An effort was made to re-organize the Pamir assets, including its aging fleet of grounded planes, which could not be sold at high enough prices to reclaim the funds, though.[2] As a consequence, the license of the airline was withdrawn, officially due to the poor safety record on 19 March 2011.[3][4]

Destinations

Upon closure, Pamir Airways operated scheduled services to the following destinations:[5]

During the Hajj season, Pamir Airways played a major role in taking Afghan pilgrims to Saudi Arabia (9,000 in 2004 and 15,000 in 2005).

Fleet
A Pamir Airways Boeing 737-400 shortly after take-off at Dubai International Airport in 2009.

Over the years, Pamir Airways operated the following aircraft types:[6]

Pamir Airways fleet
Aircraft Introduced Retired Notes
Antonov An-12 1995
Antonov An-24 2010
Boeing 707 1995
Boeing 737-200 2008 2011 1 remained in fleet upon closure
Boeing 737-400 2009 2011 4 remained in fleet upon closure
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 2005

Incidents and accidents

References
  1. Pamir Airways entry at airlineupdate.com
  2. "Afghan Elite Borrowed Freely From Kabul Bank". The New York Times. 28 March 2011.
  3. http://www.flightglobal.com/airspace/groups/fleet_and_orders_gossip_shop/blog/archive/2011/03/25/airlines-suspending-operations-afghan-auhtorities-suspend-pamir-airways.aspx
  4. "Afghan Elite Borrowed Freely From Kabul Bank". The New York Times. 28 March 2011.
  5. Pamir Airways flight schedule Archived 2011-04-26 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 25 April 2011.
  6. Pamir Airways fleet list at planespotters.net
  7. Afghan Official: Passenger Plane Crashes
  8. Afghan passenger flight reported missing
  9. "Britons in Afghan aeroplane crash". BBC News Online. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2010.

Media related to Pamir Airways at Wikimedia Commons

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