Safi Airways

Safi Airways
IATA ICAO Callsign
4Q SFW SAFI
Founded 2006
Ceased operations suspended 5 November 2016
Operating bases Kabul International Airport
Frequent-flyer program Saffron Rewards
Fleet size 3
Destinations 8
Company slogan The International Airline of Afghanistan
Parent company Safi Airways Ltd[1]
Headquarters Kabul, Afghanistan
Key people
Website www.safiairways.com

Dubai and Kabul-based Safi Airways Co. (Pashto: صافي هوايي شرکت‎; Persian: خطوط هوایی صافی‎)[3] is the first and largest privately owned airline from Afghanistan. The airline has its headquarters in Shahr-e-Naw, Kabul, Afghanistan, an administrative office in the Dubai Airport Free Zone.

History

A former Safi Airways Boeing 737-300 (2009)
A former Safi Airways Airbus A340-300 in a prototype livery (2010)

Safi Airways has been founded as a subsidiary of the Safi Group and in 2006 by its chairman and CEO, Ghulam Hazrat Safi. On 15 June 2009, Safi Airways commenced operations between the Afghan capital, Kabul, and Frankfurt Airport, Germany. This service was however suspended on 24 November 2010 due to an EU ban barring all Afghan carriers from flying into Europe[4] and did since never resume.

On 5 November 2009, Safi Airways took delivery of a pre-owned Airbus A340-300, which was phased out after suspension of the Frankfurt route due to the EU ban.[5][6] In 2011, Safi Airways replaced their Boeing 737-300 aircraft with Airbus A32x aircraft. They intended to acquire an Airbus A330 for long haul routes in 2016[7] which however did not take place.

Since February 2012, Safi Airways is the first Afghan airline to operate in compliance with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) requirements, IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization).[8]

On 5 September 2016, Afghan authorities forced Safi Airways to suspend all operations over unpaid debt.[9]

Destinations

As of September 2016, Safi Airways served the following destinations:[10]

City Country Airport Notes Ref
AfghanistanBagramBagram AirfieldTerminated
AfghanistanHeratHerat International Airportsuspended[10]
AfghanistanKabulHamid Karzai International AirportHub[10]
AfghanistanKandaharMaulana Jalaluddin Balkhi International Airportsuspended[10]
AfghanistanMazar-i-SharifKandahar International Airportsuspended[10]
BahrainManamaBahrain International AirportTerminated
GermanyFrankfurtFrankfurt AirportTerminated
IndiaDelhiIndira Gandhi International Airportsuspended[10]
IranMashhadMashhad International Airportsuspended[10]
KuwaitKuwait CityKuwait International AirportTerminated
PakistanIslamabadIslamabad International Airportsuspended[10]
Saudi ArabiaJeddahKing Abdulaziz International Airportsuspended[10]
United Arab EmiratesAbu DhabiAbu Dhabi International AirportTerminated
United Arab EmiratesDubaiDubai International Airportsuspended[10]

Fleet

Current fleet

Safi Airways Airbus A320-200
Safi Airways Boeing 767-200ER

As of October 2016, the Safi Airways fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[11]

Safi Airways Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Orders Passengers Notes
J Y
Total
Airbus A320-200 1 — 12 132 144
Boeing 767-200ER 1 — 12 196 208 stored
Total 2 0

    Former fleet

    Safi Airways previously operated the following aircraft:

    Aircraft Introduced Retired
    Airbus A319-100[12] 2013 2016
    Airbus A340-300 2009 2011
    Boeing 737-300 2008 2016
    Boeing 737-400 2016 2016
    Boeing 757-200 2012 2014

    References

    1. ↑ "Conditions of Transport" (PDF). Safi Airways. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
    2. ↑ Kamel, Deena. "Afghanistan's Safi Airways Plans Route Expansion, Jet Purchases". Retrieved 8 September 2016.
    3. ↑ "Safi Airways- Flights to Kabul, Dubai, Jeddah, Delhi, Islamabad". Retrieved 8 September 2016.
    4. ↑ spiegel.de - "EU places Afghan airlines on blacklist" (German) 22 November 2011
    5. ↑ "Skyliner - aviation news & more". Retrieved 8 September 2016.
    6. ↑ "Airliners.net - Aviation Photography, Discussion Forums & News". Retrieved 8 September 2016.
    7. ↑ "News Channel - Homepage - flightglobal.com". Retrieved 8 September 2016.
    8. ↑ Contact Info
    9. ↑ reuters.com - Afghan carrier Safi Airways grounded over debts 5 September 2016
    10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Where we fly". Safi Airways. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
    11. ↑ "Global Airline Guide 2016 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2016): 4. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
    12. ↑ Safi ends A319 operations

    Media related to Safi Airways at Wikimedia Commons

    Coordinates: 50°56′15″N 6°58′11″E / 50.9375°N 6.9697°E / 50.9375; 6.9697

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