, nativename-r = , image = Nangarhar Airport.jpg , caption = View of the airport's control tower in 2008 , IATA = JAA , ICAO = OAJL , pushpin_map = Afghanistan , pushpin_map_caption = Location of airport in Afghanistan , pushpin_label = JAA , pushpin_label_position = right , type = Public / Military , built = 1960s , owner = , operator = * Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation *

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

, city-served = Nangarhar Province , location =

Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلال‌آباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...

, Afghanistan , elevation-f = 1840 , elevation-m = 561 , coordinates = , website = , metric-elev = , metric-rwy = , r1-number = 13/31 , r1-length-f = 7260 , r1-length-m = 2213 , r1-surface =

Asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

, stat-year = , stat1-header = , stat1-data = , stat2-header = , stat2-data = , footnotes = Source:

Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...

, Landings.com,Airport record for Jalalabad Airport
at Landings.com. Retrieved 1 August 2013 AIP Afghanistan Jalalabad Airport ( ps, د جلال اباد هوايي ډګر; ), also known as Nangarhar Airport, is located next to the

Kabul–Jalalabad Road The Kabul–Jalalabad Road, also known as National Highway 08 (NH08), is a highway running between the Afghan cities of Kabul (the national capital) and Jalalabad, the largest city in eastern Afghanistan and capital of Nangarhar Province. A p ...

, about southeast of

, which is the capital of Nangarhar Province in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

. It is a domestic airport under the country's Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), and serves the population of not only Nangarhar but also neighboring Kunar,

Nuristan Nuristan, also spelled as Nurestan or Nooristan (Dari: ; Kamkata-vari: ), is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It is divided into seven districts and is Afghanistan's least populous province, wi ...

and Laghman provinces. It is also used by the

for military purposes. Security in and around the airport is provided by the

Afghan National Security Forces The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), also known as the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), were the military and internal security forces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Structure The Afghan National Security Fo ...

. Situated at an elevation of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...

, Jalalabad Airport has one

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete ...

measuring around . It also has at least 18 helipads, a number of hangars and buildings used for military purposes. The other closest major public Afghan airports to Jalalabad are the

Kabul International Airport , nativename-r = , image = Flightline at Kabul International Airport.jpeg , caption = The flightline at Kabul International Airport in January 2012 , IATA = KBL , ICAO = OAKB , ...

in neighboring

Kabul Province Kabul (Persian: ), situated in the east of the country, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. The capital of the province is Kabul city, which is also Afghanistan's capital and largest city. The population of the Kabul Province i ...

to the west and Khost Airport in

Khost Province Khost ( Pashto/ Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the southeastern part of the country. Khost consists of thirteen districts and the city of Khost serves as the capital of the province. To the east, Khost Province is ...

to the south. Jalalabad Airport was used in the past by the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

and civilian contractors. They operated out of

Forward Operating Base Fenty Forward Operating Base (FOB) Fenty was a military base built around Jalalabad Airport. Namesake The base was named after Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty Jr. LTC Fenty received his commission for the University of North Carolina- Charlotte ROTC program ...

. Members of the

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 pursua ...

(ISAF) and later

Resolute Support Mission Resolute Support Mission (RSM) or Operation Resolute Support was a NATO-led multinational mission in Afghanistan. It began on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed on 28 Decem ...

(RSM) also used the airport in the past.

History

Work on the airport began in the 1950s when Afghanistan was ruled by King

Zahir Shah Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last king of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan s ...

. It was modernized during the 1960s with United States assistance. During its failed 1980s

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...

, the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

turned the civilian airport into a military air base. It was recently expanded by

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

forces during their decades-long successful

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

with the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

New Jalalabad Airport

According to MoTCA, a new airport will be built in the

Kuz Kunar District Kuz Kunar ( ps, کوز کونړ, lit. "Lower Kunar") or Khewa ( ps, ښېوه; also spelled Shewa) is a district in the north of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, on the Kunar River. It is counted one of the more secure districts of Nangarhar, where ...

of Nangarhar Province.

Airlines and destinations

Jalalabad Airport handles only domestic flights. According to MoTCA, "there will be three to four flights each week." Between August 2021 and July 2022, there were no scheduled airlines operating at Jalalabad Airport except those operated by the

Afghan Air Force The Air Force of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Air Force and the Afghan Air Force, is the air force branch of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The Royal Afghan Air Force was es ...

and United Nations agencies.

Accidents and incidents

2010 militant attack

On 30 June 2010, a

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...

was set off and insurgents stormed the airport. According to

Zabiullah Mujahid Zabihullah Mujahid ( ps, ; ''Ẕabīḥullāh Mujāhid'' ; also spelled Dhabih Allah Mujahid) is an Afghan official Central spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since 25 October 2021 and Deputy Ministry of Information and Culture s ...

, a

spokesman, said the Taliban were responsible and killed 32 Afghan and non-Afghan security forces. According to

, there were eight Taliban deaths and one Afghan and one coalition member injured.

2015 aircraft crash

11 people, including 6 United States Airmen and 5 passengers and 3 local nationals, were killed when a

C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desi ...

Hercules aircraft crashed shortly after take-off from Jalalabad Airport on 2 October 2015.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Airports in Afghanistan Buildings and structures in Nangarhar Province Jalalabad