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Safi Airways

Coordinates: 50°56′15″N 6°58′11″E / 50.9375°N 6.9697°E / 50.9375; 6.9697
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Safi Airways
IATA ICAO Callsign
4Q SFW SAFI
Founded2006
Ceased operations2018
Operating basesHamid Karzai International Airport
Secondary hubsAhmad Shah Baba International Airport
Frequent-flyer programSaffron Rewards
Fleet size34
Destinations18
Parent companySafi Airways Ltd[1]
HeadquartersKabul, Afghanistan
Key people
Websitewww.safiairways.com

Safi Airways Co. (Pashto: صافي هوايي شرکت; Persian: خطوط هوایی صافی)[3] was the first and largest privately owned airline in Afghanistan. The airline had its headquarters in Shahr-e-Naw, Kabul, Afghanistan, and an administrative office in the Dubai Airport Free Zone. The Afghan authorities ordered suspension of its operations in September 2016, after the airline failed to clear outstanding debt and taxes.

History

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A former Safic Aisaways Boeing 737-300 (2009)
Former Safi Airways Airbus A340-300 still wearing the livery of previous operator Air Comet (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 and taxes.[9]

Destinations

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As of September 2018, Safi Airways served the following destinations:[10]

Country City Airport Notes Ref
Afghanistan Bagram Bagram Airfield Terminated
Afghanistan Herat Herat International Airport suspended [10]
Afghanistan Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport Hub [10]
Afghanistan Balkh Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi International Airport suspended [10]
Afghanistan Kandahar Kandahar International Airport suspended [10]
Bahrain Manama Bahrain International Airport
Canada Toronto Toronto Pearson International Airport
Germany Frankfurt Frankfurt Airport
Germany Cologne/Bonn Cologne Bonn Airport
Germany Hamburg Hamburg International Airport
India Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport suspended [10]
India Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport
Iran Tehran Mehrabad International Airport
Iran Mashhad Mashhad International Airport suspended [10]
Kuwait Kuwait City Kuwait International Airport
Pakistan Islamabad Islamabad International Airport suspended [10]
Pakistan Karachi Karachi International Airport
Saudi Arabia Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport suspended [10]
United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi International Airport Terminated
United Arab Emirates Dubai Dubai International Airport suspended [10]
United Arab Emirates Sharjah Sharjah International Airport

Fleet

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Final fleet

[edit]
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 8 12 132 144
Boeing 767-200ER 7 12 196 208 stored
Total 15 0

Former fleet

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Safi Airways previously operated the following aircraft:

Aircraft Introduced Retired
Airbus A319-100[12] 2013 2017
Airbus A340-300 2009 2015
Boeing 737-300 2008 2017
Boeing 737-400 2016 2018
Boeing 757-200 2012 2018
Airbus A330-200 2017 2018
Airbus A340-600 2017 2018
Boeing 777-300 2017 2018

References

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  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". Bloomberg News. 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Where we fly". Safi Airways. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2016 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2016): 4.
  12. ^ Safi ends A319 operations
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Media related to Safi Airways at Wikimedia Commons

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