Prohibition Against Certain Flights in the Kabul Flight Information Region (FIR) (OAKX)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is issuing this final rule to permit all: U.S. air carriers; U.S. commercial operators; persons exercising the privileges of an airman certificate issued by the FAA, except when such persons are operating U.S.-registered aircraft for a foreign air carrier; and operators of U.S.-registered civil aircraft, except when the operator of such aircraft is a foreign air carrier, to operate transiting overflights of the Kabul Flight Information Region (FIR) (OAKX) on jet routes P500-G500 at altitudes at and above Flight Level (FL) 300, subject to the approval of, and in accordance with the conditions established by, the appropriate authorities of Afghanistan. The FAA became aware that certain U.S. operators were having difficulty using jet routes P500-G500 in the Kabul FIR (OAKX) at altitudes at and above FL320 due to aircraft performance issues under certain meteorological conditions. After consideration of Afghanistan's practice of publishing Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs) regarding overflights on these jet routes, the lack of any reported security incidents posing safety-of-flight risks to civil aircraft overflights on these jet routes since the FAA issued this Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) in July 2023 or while the FAA flight prohibition NOTAM that preceded it was in effect, and the very brief period of time U.S. civil aviation overflights on these jet routes would be in the Kabul FIR (OAKX), the FAA has determined transiting U.S. civil aviation overflights operating on jet routes P500-G500 in the Kabul FIR (OAKX) at altitudes at and above FL300 present a low risk. The FAA continues to prohibit U.S. civil aviation operations in the remainder of the Kabul FIR (OAKX) at altitudes below FL320 due to hazards to persons and aircraft engaged in operations at those altitudes due to the risk posed by violent extremist and militant activity and the lack of adequate risk mitigation capabilities to counter such activity.