Safi Airways

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. 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 ]