Bakhtar Afghan Airlines
Encyclopedia
Bakhtar Afghan Airlines was an airline
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...

 from Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, which offered domestic flights. The company was founded in 1967 as Bakhtar Alwatana, a name it kept until 1985, when it was renamed Bakhtar Afghan Airlines. In 1985 the company absorbed Ariana Afghan Airlines
Ariana Afghan Airlines
Ariana Afghan Airlines Co. Ltd. is the oldest and the national airline of Afghanistan, and is currently the largest Afghan airline, headquartered in Kabul...

 and became Afghanistan's sole airline company. In 1988 the Ariana and Bakhtar brands merged.

Destinations

In 1975, Bakhtar Afghan Airlines offered scheduled flights to the following destinations:
  • Bamyan - Bamyan Airport
    Bamyan Airport
    Bamyan Airport is an airport serving the city of Bamyan in Afghanistan.-See also:*List of airports in Afghanistan...

  • Chaghcharan
    Chaghcharan
    Chaghcharān , in historical literature as Chakhcherān, formerly known as Ahangaran, is a town and district in central Afghanistan, which serves as the capital of Ghor Province...

     - Chaghcharan Airport
    Chaghcharan Airport
    Chaghcharan Airport is an airport serving the city of Chaghcharan in Ghor Province, Afghanistan.It is located north and west of the Hari River, one mile east/northeast of Chaghcharan...

  • Darwaz - Darwaz Airport
  • Fayzabad
    Fayzabad, Badakhshan
    See also: Faizabad Fayzabad is the provincial capital and largest city in Badakhshan Province, in northern Afghanistan, with around 50,000 people. It is situated in Fayzabad District and is at an altitude of 1,200 m. It is located in the northeast of Afghanistan, on the River Kokcha...

     - Fayzabad Airport
    Fayzabad Airport
    See also: Faizabad Fayzabad Airport is and airport 3.5 miles northwest of the town of Faizabad. Built during the Soviet Occupation, Fayzabad Airport is somewhat unique in the world, notable for the runway being constructed of Pierced Steel Planking along it's full width and length...

  • Herat
    Herat
    Herāt is the capital of Herat province in Afghanistan. It is the third largest city of Afghanistan, with a population of about 397,456 as of 2006. It is situated in the valley of the Hari River, which flows from the mountains of central Afghanistan to the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan...

     - Herat Airfield
    Herat Airfield
    Herat Airport is 6.5 miles southeast of the city Herat, just east of the Herat-Farah road, close to Guzara in the Guzara District of the Herat Province....

  • Kabul
    Kabul
    Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

     - Kabul International Airport
    Kabul International Airport
    -Facilities:The airport has two terminal buildings, the modern for international flights and the Soviet built one for domestic flights. Several hangars along the runway are for military aircraft...

     (base)
  • Kunduz
    Kunduz
    Kunduz also known as Kundûz, Qonduz, Qondûz, Konduz, Kondûz, Kondoz, or Qhunduz is a city in northern Afghanistan, the capital of Kunduz Province. It is linked by highways with Mazari Sharif to the west, Kabul to the south and Tajikistan's border to the north...

     - Kunduz Airport
    Kunduz Airport
    Kunduz Airport is located 5 miles south southeast of Kunduz city, 14 km west of Khan Abad, 40 km south of the Oxus River and 53 km south of the Tajikistan border...

  • Khwahan
    Khwahan, Afghanistan
    Khwahan is the capital of Khwahan District[شهرستان خواهان[ولسوالی خواهان in the Badakhshan province in Afghanistan, very close to the western border with Tajikistan. There is an airport there....

     - Khwahan Airport
    Khwahan Airport
    Khwahan Airport is an airport serving the city of Khwahan in Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan.-See also:*List of airports in Afghanistan...

  • Maymana - Maymana Airport
  • Mazar-i-Sharif - Mazar-i-Sharif Airport
  • Shegnan
    Shighnan
    Shighnan is an historic region whose name today may also refer to a town and a district in Badakhshan Province in the mountainous northeast of Afghanistan and also a district in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in Tajikistan...

     - Sheghnan Airport
    Sheghnan Airport
    Shughnan Airport is located in the extreme northeast section of Afghanistan deep within Pamir mountain ranges in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. The airport is very close to the border with Tajikistan. To the east and parallel to the Shughnan airport is the Khorog airport. The distance...


Flights were operated using Yakovlev Yak-40
Yakovlev Yak-40
The Yakovlev Yak-40 is a small, three-engined airliner that is often called the first regional jet transport aircraft...

 or de Havilland Twin Otter
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian 19-passenger STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and currently produced by Viking Air. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL abilities and high rate of climb have made it a successful cargo, regional passenger airliner and MEDEVAC...

 aircraft.

Accidents and incidents

  • On 25 January 1972, a Bakhtar Yakovlev Yak-40
    Yakovlev Yak-40
    The Yakovlev Yak-40 is a small, three-engined airliner that is often called the first regional jet transport aircraft...

     (registered
    Aircraft registration
    An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...

     YA-KAD) was damaged beyond repair when its hit trees during approach of Khost Airfield
    Khost Airfield
    The Khost Airfield is situated 2 miles southeast of the town of Khost, Afghanistan and 9 miles northeast of the Pakistan border in a valley surrounded by high terrains from West and East.- Accidents :...

     near the Afghan town of Khost
    Khost
    Khost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...

    .
  • On 18 April 1973, a Bakhtar Twin Otter
    De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
    The DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian 19-passenger STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and currently produced by Viking Air. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL abilities and high rate of climb have made it a successful cargo, regional passenger airliner and MEDEVAC...

     (registered YA-GAT) carrying 16 passengers (most of which were American or Canadian citizens) crashed upon take-off at Bamyan Airport
    Bamyan Airport
    Bamyan Airport is an airport serving the city of Bamyan in Afghanistan.-See also:*List of airports in Afghanistan...

    , killing two passengers and two of the three crew members on board.
  • On 10 March 1983, a Bakhtar Twin Otter (registered YA-GAZ) operating a domestic flight from Kabul
    Kabul
    Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

     to Uruzgan
    Oruzgan Province
    Orūzgān or Urōzgān , also spelled Uruzgan or Rōzgān , is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the center of the country, though the area is culturally and tribally linked to Kandahar in the south. Its capital is Tarin Kowt...

     crashed during a thunderstorm near the town of Ghazni
    Ghazni
    For the Province of Ghazni see Ghazni ProvinceGhazni is a city in central-east Afghanistan with a population of about 141,000 people...

    , killing all 17 passengers and 2 crew members on board.
  • 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.
  • On 4 September 1985 (during the Soviet war in Afghanistan
    Soviet war in Afghanistan
    The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...

    ), a Bakhtar Antonov An-26
    Antonov An-26
    The Antonov An-26 is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the USSR from 12 March 1968.-Development:...

     (registered YA-BAM) was shot down by a ground-air missile
    Surface-to-air missile
    A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...

     near Kandahar
    Kandahar
    Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...

    . The aircraft was carrying 47 passengers and 5 crew members and had been on a scheduled flight from Kandahar to Farah
    Farah, Afghanistan
    Farah is a city in western Afghanistan, situated at 650 m altitude, and located on the Farah River. It is the capital of Farah Province, and has a population of approximately 109,409....

    . There were no survivors.
  • 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.
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