Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport ( prs, میدان هوائی مزار شریف, ''Meydâne Havâyeye Mazâre Šarif''; ps, مزار شریف نړیوال هوايي ډګر) , also known as Mawlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī International Airport, is located 9 km east of

Mazar-i-Sharif , official_name = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , pushpin_map = Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_label = Mazar-i-Sharif , pushpin ...

in northern

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 bordere ...

, a 15-minute drive from the center of the city. Though it was originally constructed with 2 parallel runways, the northernmost runway has since been converted into a

Taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel ...

. The remaining runway is 9,836 feet (2,998 meters). The airport has facilities for up to 1,000 passengers, making it one of the largest

airports in Afghanistan This is a list of airports in Afghanistan, grouped by type and sorted by location. Description Afghanistan has four international airports which are expected to increase in the future. The Kabul International Airport serves the population of Kabu ...

. Originally built in the 1960s in part by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, the airport serves the northern Afghan population. In 2013, a 60 million euro terminal was added to the airport while the older terminal is now used for domestic flights. The airport was also home to the Afghan Air Force 4th (304th) Wing. In August 2021, the air base fell to the

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

after a surrender by government forces. The Taliban does not yet have an air force which can be deployed from the airfield, although it has captured weaponry and vehicles from the Afghan National Army and Afghan Air Force.

History

Early years

Mazar-i-Sharif Airport was built in the 1960s by the United States during the Cold War, when the Soviets and the Americans were engaged in spreading their influences in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

. Between the 1960s and late 1970s, for the first time large number of tourists began arriving to see historical places in the city. The airport was heavily used in the 1980s by the Soviet forces from which they launched daily flight missions to hit targets in the Mujahideen controlled territories of Afghanistan. It also served as one of the main hubs for deploying troops from the neighboring former Soviet Union.

21st century

C-5 Galaxy at Mazar-e-Sharif Airport in northern Afghanistan

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

took command of the

International Security Assistance Force ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

(ISAF)'s Regional Area North at the end of March 2006. The airfield functioned as a main hub for the exchange of personnel as well as air cargo for the international stabilisation and peace support forces in northern Afghanistan. From September 2007 a

TACAN A tactical air navigation system, commonly referred to by the acronym TACAN, is a navigation system used by military aircraft. It provides the user with bearing and distance (slant-range or hypotenuse) to a ground or ship-borne station. It is a mor ...

installation for an instrument landing system was available for bad weather operation.

Camp Marmal Camp Marmal was an installation of the Afghan Armed Forces. It was adjacent to Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi International Airport in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, at the foot of the Hindu Kush mountains. The camp was opened in September 2005. The ca ...

was built next to the airport in 2005, which gradually expanded to one of the largest military bases in Afghanistan. It served all ISAF personnel, including U.S. and

Afghan Armed Forces ("The land belongs to Allah, the rule belongs to Allah") , founded = 1997 , current_form = , branches = * Afghan Army * Afghan Air Force , headquarters = Kabul , website = , commander-in-chi ...

. On 30 June 2014 the Royal Netherlands Air Force detachment of General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon's ended. Work on a new international terminal began in 2010 and was completed in 2013. A special inauguration ceremony was held in June 2013, which was attended by German Foreign Minister

Guido Westerwelle Guido Westerwelle (; 27 December 1961 – 18 March 2016) was a German politician who served as Foreign Minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice-Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011, being the first openly gay person ...

, Afghanistan's Transport and Aviation Minister

Daoud Ali Najafi Dawood Ali Najafi ( prs, داودعلی نجفی) (February 17, 1968) is a politician in Afghanistan. He is serving as Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, a position he held since June 2010. Son of Salman Ali, Najafi lived in Pakistan as an ...

, Balkh's Governor

Atta Muhammad Nur Atta Muhammad Nur (also spelled Ata Mohammed Noor; fa, عطا محمد نور; born 1964) is an Afghan exiled politician and former militant who served as the Governor of Balkh Province in Afghanistan from 2004 to January 25, 2018. An ethnic ...

and some parliamentarians. After the inauguration, the airport was named Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi International Airport. The expansion of the airport was a joint venture of Germany and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

(UAE), cost 60 million euros and took about three years to complete. The project was overseen by a Turkish company. The airport's new international terminal takes its name from Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi, also known as Rumi.

Airlines and destinations

the following airlines serve Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport:

References

External links

* , January 5, 2018,

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 ...