Pakistan International Airlines and Afghanistan’s Kam Air have signed an interline agreement to simplify travel between Afghanistan and the Middle East. The first phase connects Kabul with Dammam in Saudi Arabia through Islamabad.
The arrangement allows passengers to book their complete journey under one reservation. It also provides baggage transfers between the airlines and airside transit at Islamabad International Airport.
PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez Khan said the cooperation would link Kam Air’s Afghanistan operations with PIA’s Middle Eastern services. Afghan travellers and workers heading to eastern Saudi Arabia form part of the initial route’s intended market.
One booking and direct baggage transfers
Under the PIA-Kam Air agreement, passengers can arrange both flight sectors through a unified reservation. They will no longer need separate tickets for each leg of the participating itinerary.
Kam Air will carry passengers from Kabul to Islamabad, where they will connect with a PIA flight to Dammam.
The airlines will also coordinate checked baggage handling. Staff at Islamabad airport will transfer luggage checked in at Kabul directly to the connecting PIA service.
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Passengers will therefore avoid collecting their bags and checking them in again during the stopover. The arrangement combines booking and baggage handling across the two carriers while retaining Islamabad as the connection point.
An interline agreement allows separate airlines to coordinate journeys involving their respective flights. In this case, the announced passenger benefits centre on a single reservation and onward baggage transfer.
Kam Air already advertises Kabul-Islamabad services on its official website. The agreement adds coordinated onward travel through PIA to that connection.
Afghan passengers can remain airside
Afghan passengers continuing to Gulf destinations will not need to clear Pakistani immigration, provided they remain airside during transit, the spokesman said.
Airside transit means staying within the airport’s controlled international transit area while waiting for the next flight. The announcement ties the immigration arrangement specifically to passengers who remain in that area.
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For travellers on the participating Kabul-Islamabad-Dammam itinerary, the transfer process will therefore cover both their onward flight and checked luggage.
Dammam provides access to Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. PIA identifies King Fahd International Airport near Dammam as a gateway to the region.
Further Middle East connections planned
The airlines plan a second phase covering additional destinations, including Madinah, Muscat and Al Ain, according to Business Recorder. Those connections would serve religious travellers, workers and business passengers.
The reports identify these destinations as planned additions. They do not provide a launch timetable, flight frequencies or fares for the expanded arrangement.
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“This partnership expands regional connectivity for Afghan travelers while utilizing Islamabad as an operational air transit hub for South and West Asia,” Khan said.
The initial Dammam connection establishes the operating model for that expansion, bringing the two airlines’ services together through Islamabad.
