Gulf Air refused Kabul landing as row brews over bilateral rights

The Bahraini airline said in a statement that it is seeking clarification from the Afghan authorities as to why the flight was refused, alleging that this is a contracvention of the bilateral agreements between Afghanistan and Bahrain

The Airbus A320, flight number   GF742 travelling from Bahrain to Kabul, this morning was refused permission by the Civil Aviation Authority in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The flight returned to Bahrain.
In the statement Gulf Air said it is working hard to make sure all passengers affected are accommodated on alternative flights either to their destination of origin or Kabul as soon as possible. The airline said it would like to “apologize for the disruption caused to its passengers which was beyond its control.  “
 A spokesperson at Gulf Air said that the Afghan authorities had recently advised the airline to reduce its flights from four to two per week “without justifiable reason and in direct contravention of the bilateral agreement in place between The Kingdom of Bahrain and  Afghanistan  which permits  Gulf Air  to operate 8 flights per week. Gulf Air was therefore operating in accordance with its schedule and the bilateral agreements in place between Bahrain and Afghanistan. “
 Gulf Air said that it was being treated differently from other airlines. “None of the other airlines operating higher frequencies into Kabul have been subjected to such punitive measures,” Gulf Air said.

Pictured: The sign may welcome arrivals - but not for Gulf Air whose flight was turned back to Bahrain after today's row over bilateral rights (Pic (c) American Bedu)