Formed and started operations in 2003. Is a division of the Kamgar Company Ltd. Domestic, scheduled, passenger & cargo, jet airplane services.
February 2005: ACCDT: (KMF) 737-242 (22075, EX037), wet-leased from Phoenix Aviation (PHG)/(PHX), crashed in the mountains near Kabul = all 8 Flight Crew (FC)-Cabin Attendants (CA)/96 passengers fatalities. The flight crew (FC) had abandoned an approach to Kabul on a domestic flight from Herat, and was climbing away to divert when the airplane hit high ground at 11,000 ft about 30 km S of Kabul.
(NATO) helicopters found the wreckage of the Kam Air (KMF) 737-242 in a mountainous area SE of Kabul. The airplane, which was en route from Herat in W Afghanistan, disappeared from radar screens as it approached Kabul airport during a snowstorm.
The airplane's cockpit voice recorder (CVR) never was found amid wreckage strewn across a snow-covered minefield, and a recovered flight data recorder (FDR) was blank due to a technical failure. The European Union (EU), however, placed the airplane operator, Phoenix Aviation (PHG)/(PHX) on its blacklist of nearly 100 operators who they consider are too dangerous to fly within the (EU).
(PHG)/(PHX) illustrates the menace of operators who are either illicit or operate on the edge of illegality. These operators place passengers' lives at risk by flying with little regard for safety. In examining the (KMF) crash, investigators discovered that (PHX) held an air operator's certificate (AOC) from Kyrgystan, an impoverished former Soviet republic. (PHG)/(PHX)'s headquarters, however, actually were a continent away in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). By registering in 1 country and operating from another for many years, (PHG)/(PHX) escaped oversight that might have prevented this Afghan crash. (PHG)/(PHX) ceased operation last year. Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, and Equatorial Guinea are among the countries singled out for failing to monitor air operation licenses (AOC)s. International safety officials say regulators from these countries don't check where the airplanes they license fly, or even whether they ever land on home soil.
January 2006: Kam Air (KMF) is starting charter service from Kabul to Almaty (Kazakstan) and operates 2x-weekly on Saturdays/Sundays.
September 2006: Kam Air (KMF) operates scheduled, passenger jet airplane services within Afghanistan and to Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
October 2006: Kam Air (KMF) inaugurated service from Kabul to Mashhad (Iran). The airline will operate a weekly flight and is looking to inaugurate service to New Delhi as soon as possible.
August 2007: 737-277 (22650, YA-GAB), returned to Phoenix Aviation (PHG)/(PHX), leased to Starline (LMZ) as (UN-B3708).
June 2010: Kam-Air (KMF) launched new 2x-weekly, Kabul - Vienna - London Gatwick service. A senior management member of (VIE) confirmed that (KMF) plans to use as a 1st stage, a wet-leased A310-300 that should be exchanged later for a 767-200.
September 2010: Kam-Air (KMF) launched 2x-weekly, Kabul – Vienna flights aboard a 767-200 on September 15.
Kam-Air (KMF) Executive VP Timor Shahab said that (KMF) is evaluating the renewal of its medium-haul fleet and will purchase “3 A319s or A320s in early 2011.” He noted that next year (KMF) plans to add 1 767-300ER to its long-haul fleet. Currently, (KMF) operates 1 MD-82, 1 MD-83, 1 767-200, 2 DC-8-63Fs, 1 Ilyushin 76 and a fleet of 23 Russian-built helicopters. (KMF) has a staff of 360.
President, Zamari Kamgar said (KMF) launched 2x-weekly, Kabul – Vienna service on September 16 with plans to increase flights to daily as soon as business increases.
Shahab said the carrier will sign an interline agreement with Austrian Airlines (AUL) shortly. He added that it is also in "negotiations with the aviation authorities in England to launch services to London." (KMF) already has traffic rights to Moscow and Guangzhou, and service to the Chinese city is likely to start sooner than flights to the Russian capital.
(KMF), founded in 2003, is the 1st privately owned airline in Afghanistan. It began international operations in 2004. Zamari said (KMF) is profitable but gave no financial data. “We are operating in a niche market,” he said.
December 2010: The European Union banned all Afghan airlines from flying in Europe due to the poor safety record of its civil aviation oversight system. State-owned Ariana Afghan Airlines (AFG) had been the only Afghan air carrier on the blacklist, but the (EU) decided to extend the ban to the other 3 air carriers
January 2012: KAM Air (KMF) has added another A320, 12C, 150Y, to its fleet in a deal valued at $10 million. It will be used on (KMF)'s routes from the Afghan capital, Kabul to Dubai and India.
June 2012: Kam-Air (KMF) has signed a partnership agreement with Somon Air (SMF) that will extend its weekly Dushanbe (DYU) - Frankfurt International (FRA) service operated with its 737-900 to operate from/to Kabul. The 1st joint flight will take place on June 23.
August 2012: Kam-Air (KMF) is planning to lease 2 ex-AirBridge Cargo (ABC) 747-200F freighters (24576 and 25171) for cargo services. It had previously used 2 DC-8-63F freighters in 2010, but then had given up any cargo fleet ambitions in the meantime.
September 2012: Kam-Air (KMF) is planning to add a 1st ex-Allegiant Air (WJE) MD-87 (53010) to its fleet. It currently already operates 1 MD-82 and 2 MD-83s alongside an A320-200 and a 767-200.
February 2013: Kam-Air ((IATA) Code: RQ, based at Kabul Khwaja Rawash International (KBL)) (KMF) has been temporarily removed from a blacklist of the United States military again following protests by the Afghan government. The USA military accuses Kam-Air (KMF) of being involved in drug smuggling between Afghanistan and Tajikistan and had implemented a ban on Kam-Air preventing its staff from using the airline's flights. The USA military has announced earlier this week that some of its officials had met with the Afghan government offering information that led to the ban. Afghanistan has now agreed to investigate the claims in return, provided the ban is temporarily lifted again.
February 2014: Kam-Air (KMF) has had its Section 841 designation permanently rescinded by the USA Central Command (CENTCOM) in Afghanistan following an in-depth investigation into (KMF)'s alleged links to opium smuggling. Following a Wall Street Journal report in early 2013, (KMF) was slapped with a Section 841 designation, which prohibits “contracting with the enemy in the United States Central Command Theater of Operations,” a decision that would have barred the airline from USA military contracts. However, during the course of investigations, (CENTCOM) lifted the ban. "The US Government's ban on Kam Air (KMF), which was suspended by the (USG) on February 2013, now have been lifted permanently; it proves that Kam Air (KMF) is innocent and never been involved in any illegal business," (KMF) said. "We hope that now we can establish strong business relations and open (or re-open) collaboration and work with companies that ceased since the allegations early 2013." The largest private Afghan carrier, Kam-Air (KMF) operates a diverse fleet including MD-83s, MD-87s, an MD-82, a 767-200 and an A320-200 on flights throughout Afghanistan, India, Iran, Tajikistan, and the (UAE).
Note: KAM Air (KMF) is listed on the latest (EU) blacklist released 03.04.2012 of airlines whose operations are subject to a ban within the (EU)*. *Airlines listed in Annex A could be permitted to exercise traffic rights by using wet-leased airplanes of an air carrier which is not subject to an operating ban, provided that the relevant safety standards are complied with.