US due to stop managing Afghan airspace by end of June

The United States is to stop managing Afghan airspace by the end of June after its air-traffic control contract with the government in Kabul expires, a development that could see international airlines forced to cancel flights both into the country and over its territory.
Unless a solution, even a temporary one, is found, Afghanistan would basically become a no-fly zone, which would cost the government millions of dollars in revenue and seriously damage its credibility with overseas donors and investors, officials and diplomats in Kabul warn.
The Afghan airspace, a key air corridor between Europe and Asia, has been managed by the US-led international military coalition or foreign companies paid by donor countries since 2001, when the Taliban regime was overthrown in a US-led invasion.

The air traffic over Afghanistan, as well as to and from the Central Asian country generates about USD 33 million a year, according to Mohammad Qassim Wafayezada, the Afghan Civil Aviation Authority's deputy director general on policy and planning.
International airlines that fly into the Afghan capital include the Dubai-based Emirates, Air India and Turkish Airlines.
Many other airlines fly over Afghanistan. There are no flights to and from the European Union because the Afghan Civil Aviation Authority is not recognised by the bloc, which cannot certify it due to safety deficiencies.

The current contract on Afghan air traffic control, paid for by the United States, ends June 30 and failure to renew it will mean that foreign airlines will not be able to use Afghan airspace.

It may be a scenario difficult to imagine but at the core is Kabul's reluctance to take over responsibility for its airspace and put a new contract in place, paid for from its own budget.
This is likely contributing to donor fatigue, diplomats say.
"The international community does not want to be in a situation where we are continuously stuck with paying for this because they (Afghan authorities) are simply not seriously going to take it over," a Western diplomat in Kabul told The Associated Press.
"This is causing reluctance with some of the partners who would otherwise bridge the gap."

According to an internal NATO memo seen by the AP, the US government will not extend its current contract for another six months, to the end of 2015, an extension that requires USD 25 million.