SAFI Airways, the privately owned international scheduled airline of Afghanistan, has been in operation for the last six years.
Safi Airways was incorporated in the year 2006 to fill the market gap for safe and reliable airline linking Afghanistan to the rest of the world.
The airline was founded by the Safi Group of companies, a diversified conglomerate based in Dubai, UAE.
Today, Safi Airways operates a full service commercial airline with a two cabin services, business and economy class, from its hub in Kabul, catering to the ethnic local Afghan and the international traveller with a modern fleet of Boeing and Airbus aircraft.
Safi Airways is committed in maintaining uncompromising international safety standards.
It was the first Afghan carrier to operate in compliance with European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) requirements and was the first Afghan carrier to be in compliance with the strict International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) regulations.
The airline currently operates two flights a day from Kabul to Dubai and daily flights from Kabul to New Delhi on the international route network, and from Kabul to Herat on the domestic sector.
Speaking to TTN, Captain Pierfranco Prato, CEO, Safi Airways said: “We have come a long way and it has been no easy task in establishing a commercial airline from this part of the world. The aviation industry and the country’s infrastructure are gradually being built and improving every day. We operate out of Kabul as our hub and have an administrative office at the airport free zone in Dubai. Safi Airways is patronised by the expatriate Afghan community, the western community working for a variety of NGOs, local business community and blue colour work force who are residents in Afghanistan and the GCC.”
He continued: “We are working vigorously on route expansion. Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Mashhad and Najaf in Iran and Islamabad in Pakistan will be coming up soon, we will also add more frequency to our Delhi sector.
“Safi Airways also operates ACMI charters, Hajj and Umrah flights, VIP and special flights, Mice movements, governmental, UN (United Nations) and diplomatic movements. Last year the carrier operated Hajj charters and carried over 10,000 pilgrims from Kabul to Jeddah and back and we intend to do so this year as well.
“Safi Airways, being the only full-service carrier operating out of Dubai to Kabul, has an edge over the other low-cost carriers on the route. Our target sectgor is the premium upmarket clientele in comparison to the low-cost market segment.
“Being a full-service carrier and maintaining industry standards has benefited us through other airline affiliations and code share tie-ups.”
Safi Airways is in the process of investing in human resources and many departments are being restructured. We are bringing in expertise and knowhow with the vision of building a dynamic operating system to compete in the region and beyond, he added.