India offers airliners to Afghanistan

India has said it is to give three passenger aircraft to Afghanistan's national carrier, Ariana Airlines, to help rebuild the country's aviation services.

India's civil aviation minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said three Indian pilots would be assigned to fly the three Airbus A300 aircraft for the first three months, and added that Afghan pilots would receive training to take over their handling.

The minister said Ariana Airlines was planning to use the aircraft on routes to London, Frankfurt and Paris.

The three planes are part of Air India's aging fleet of 23 aircraft, which the airline had intended to phase out.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service