Qatar and Turkey working to restore Kabul passenger flights, ministers say (updated)

Nippon Television Holdings

07/09/2021 12:32

(Adds Qatari minister)
    ANKARA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Qatar and Turkey are working to
restore passenger flights at Kabul airport soon but have yet to
agree with Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers how to run the
airport, their foreign ministers said on Tuesday.
    Both countries have technical teams at the airport and Qatar
is chartering near daily humanitarian flights following the
withdrawal of U.S. troops a week ago, Qatari Foreign Minister
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said.
    "We hope in the next few days we can get to a level where
the airport is up and running for passengers and for
humanitarian aid as well," Sheikh Mohammed told a joint news
conference in Doha with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
    Damage to the airport's runways, towers and terminals, needs
to be repaired before civilian flights can resume, Turkey has
said.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2Q00HS
    Because of the damage, pilots flying into and out of the
airport are operating in "fly-as-you-see" mode, Turkey's Foreign
Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.
    He told Turkish broadcaster NTV that Turkey and Qatar were
working to ensure that both humanitarian and commercial flights
could operate. "For both of these, the most important criteria
is security," he said.
    Turkey says it wants to provide security inside the airport
to protect any Turkish team deployed there and safeguard
operations, but that the Taliban have insisted there can be no
foreign forces present. 
    Cavusoglu suggested the task could be given to a private
security company. "In the future, if everything comes back on
track in Afghanistan and the security concern is lifted, Afghan
forces can do this.
    "But right now, nobody is certain. There is no confidence."
    Cavusoglu said a "pre-delegation" of 19 Turkish technicians
was working at Kabul airport with a Qatari team.

 (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ali Kucukgocmen in Ankara,
Humeyra Pamuk in Doha, Aziz El YAakoubi and Lisa Barrington in
Dubai Editing by Dominic Evans and Mark Potter)
 ((tuvan.gumrukcu@tr.com; +90 312 292 7021; @tuvangumrukcu;
Reuters Messaging:
tuvan.gumrukcu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))