Abdul Hafiz Akbarzada packed to depart Kabul the day the U.S. utterly withdrew its forces on Aug. 30, 2021. He knew this was his final takeoff from the nation he had all the time known as dwelling.
He wore his navy blue, gold-striped pilot’s uniform and flight bag. He boarded the aircraft, however this time, he sat within the passenger seat.
When Kabul had fallen to the Taliban two weeks earlier, many pilots stayed underground and refused to take flights. However Akbarzada, 32, was one of many few industrial pilots who continued to function regardless of the chaos that plagued the airport.
At a time when tens of 1000’s of individuals have been speeding to the airport to flee the nation for concern of the Taliban’s retaliation, he felt his data and expertise have been wanted. In the course of the frenzied evacuation, industrial airways supplied planes to airlift 1000’s of individuals to international locations together with UAE, Qatar, Albania and Uganda. Akbarzada flew 4 flights to Qatar and UAE over the last two weeks of August and airlifted tons of of Afghans.
“There was chaos all over the place,” Akbarzada recalled. He was scheduled to fly a aircraft to Ukraine the day Kabul fell. To get to the airport, he needed to stroll for an hour and a half as a result of the roads to the airport have been filled with vehicles. When he arrived, he discovered that nothing was the identical anymore.
“There was no authority, no order, no nothing,” he stated. “The airport and the roads resulting in it have been clogged with individuals who have been attempting to flee. The civilian facet of the airport was left uncontrolled, and everybody was speeding to board any plane on the ramp. There have been shootings and screams all over the place,” he stated.
He by no means beforehand thought-about leaving the nation, although he had loads of probabilities.
However his dedication to staying had wavered earlier than certainly one of his final industrial flights when Taliban members stopped Akbarzada and his captain as they have been strolling to the terminal for an evacuation flight to Qatar. They each wore their standard navy blue pilot fits with golden stripes, white shirts and ties, carrying their iPads, headphones, licenses and flight paperwork of their baggage.
When the Taliban members checked their baggage, Akbarzada tried to elucidate that they have been solely civilian pilots who had nothing to do with the army or former authorities. However one of many Taliban inspectors pointed a gun at him and yelled, “Shut up, Infidel, I’ll shoot you!”
Akbarzada by no means thought the Taliban would threaten a civilian pilot. He couldn’t assist however take into consideration his household, about his pregnant spouse and his unborn little one, about his youthful siblings and their futures. “What would occur to them if I’m threatened and never revered as a pilot on the airport?” he requested himself.
So he left. Akbarzada is now one of many 1000’s of Afghans within the U.S. who fled their nation when Kabul fell to the Taliban final summer time with a purpose to keep away from revenge killing and persecution. Many extra expect to relocate this yr.
A Dream Minimize Quick
Akbarzada began out in 2011 as a check-in agent for Kam Air, the most important non-public airline in Afghanistan. At some point, when a captain and his cabin crew have been passing via the terminal hallway, he seen everybody standing with their proper hand on their chest as an indication of respect, and that was the second he knew he needed to be a pilot. His love of flying solely grew after he joined the cabin crew.
He determined to start saving as much as transfer overseas and practice as a pilot. After speaking it over along with his boss and securing some funding, he finally made it to the USA to finish his skilled aviation schooling. In 2017, he accomplished a rigorous two-year coaching program in Daytona Seashore, Florida, and earned his industrial pilot license from the Federal Aviation Administration. He returned dwelling as a licensed industrial pilot and made his first flight as a trainee pilot for Kam Air.
“It was a dream come true,” Akbarzada stated. “I used to be very excited. It’s probably the most wonderful feeling particularly if you take off and land for the primary time and you might be sitting within the cockpit controlling the plane.”
With greater than 3,000 hours of flight time as a primary officer pilot, Akbarzada hoped to at some point sit on the left facet of the cockpit as a captain. He needed to purchase a home and lift his little one in Kabul. That dream died when he was compelled to flee.
“I had blended feelings,” Hafiz recalled of the second his aircraft took off from Kabul that day. “You’re unhappy since you left every part you’d constructed, glad as a result of your loved ones’s secure, anxious since you don’t know what the longer term holds for you.”
After spending 9 months within the facility in Abu Dhabi referred to as the Emirates Humanitarian Metropolis, which has housed tons of of displaced Afghans since final yr, Hafiz and his household made it to the U.S. in July of this yr and settled in Denver. 1000’s of Afghans are nonetheless residing in momentary housing in Abu Dhabi, awaiting resettlement in the USA or different international locations.
Beginning Over Once more
Akbarzada’s displacement price him his sense of normalcy and peace. He was a profitable pilot, about to develop into a father for the primary time, with a loving spouse and household and a brilliant future forward. Having his son in a short lived shelter with no everlasting nation to name dwelling was the very last thing he ever anticipated.
“There have been instances I believed perhaps I ought to have stayed and by no means left,” he stated. “However as I checked out my son once more, I knew I had made the proper resolution.”
Akbarzada’s arrival in the USA, nevertheless, has given him renewed hope for a recent begin. Since he’s an authorized industrial pilot, he hopes to fly once more within the U.S. He speaks fluent English, a ability many Afghans lack and that forestalls them from getting higher jobs in America. Moreover, U.S. airways are experiencing a pilot scarcity, making Akbarzada’s 1000’s of flying hours extremely fascinating.
However for Akbarzada to get again to his profession, he might want to spend 1000’s of {dollars} and weeks acquiring a separate license known as an ATPL – Airline Transport Pilot License.
Akbarzada not too long ago started working as a customer support agent for United Airways at Denver Worldwide Airport — beginning in an entry-level place at an airline as soon as once more. “It jogs my memory of my early days as a check-in employees at Kabul airport,” he stated. “I believe these days taught me to be affected person and work in direction of my objective slowly and constantly.”
He hopes the job will assist pay his payments and fund the prices related to the ATPL.
Like Akbarzada, 1000’s of extremely expert latest Afghan arrivals within the U.S. have been compelled to take low-paying occupations to make ends meet. Many of those people used to work in administration, data know-how, engineering, medication or aviation.
Akbarzada’s momentary immigration standing might additionally hinder his profession as a pilot. With out everlasting residency, he can’t fly abroad. It might take years for Afghan arrivals to get their inexperienced playing cards until lawmakers enact the Afghan Adjustment Act launched final month. The proposal would make it attainable for Afghans to get everlasting standing exterior of the presently backlogged asylum system.
However that hasn’t discouraged Akbarzada.
“I’ll by no means hand over flying,” he stated. “My objective is to get again within the air and at some point develop into a captain within the U.S.”