Mazar-e-Sharif International Airport (Dari: میدان هوائی مزار شریف, Maydâne Hawâyiye Mazâre Šarif; Pashto: مزار شریف نړیوال هوايي ډګر) (IATA: MZR, ICAO: OAMS),[4] officially called Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi International Airport,[5][6] is located about 9km (5.6mi) east of Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, which is around 15 minutes of driving distance from the center of the city.
Situated at an elevation of 1,259ft (384m) above sea level, the airport has one asphaltrunway measuring around 9,836ft ×170ft (2,998m ×52m) and several taxiways, and facilities for up to 1,000 passengers.[7] It serves much of the population of northern Afghanistan. In 2013, a sixty million euro terminal was added to the airport while the older terminal is now used for domestic flights.[8][9][10]
Though originally constructed with 2 parallel runways, the airport's northernmost runway has since been converted into a taxiway, making it one of the largest airports in Afghanistan.[11][12] The Mazar-i-Sharif rail terminal is located to the east of the airport, which is connected to the Hairatanborder town in the north. The Ministry of Defense also has a military base adjacent to the airport.
Mazar-i-Sharif Airport was built in the 1960s by the United States during the Cold War,[1] when the Soviets and the Americans were engaged in extending political ties in the Middle East and South Asia.[13] At that time the Soviet Union was less than 50 miles north of Mazar-i-Sharif.
During the 1970s, the airport began seeing a gradual increase in air traveling. For the first time large number of foreign 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.
In 2005, Camp Marmal was built next to the airport, which gradually expanded to one of the largest military bases in Afghanistan. In 2006, after Germany took command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the airfield functioned as a main hub for the exchange of personnel as well as air cargo. Since 2008 a TACAN installation for an instrument landing system was available for bad weather operation.[14] It served all ISAF personnel, including American and Afghan Armed Forces.
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 then-German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Afghanistan's Transport and Aviation MinisterDaoud Ali Najafi, Balkh's Governor Atta Muhammad Nur and some parliamentarians. After the inauguration, the airport was given the name Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi International Airport. This was to honor the famous historical Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi. The expansion of the airport was a joint venture of Germany and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), cost 60 million euros and took about three years to complete. The project was overseen by a Turkish company.[7][15][11]
In August 2021, forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) took control of the airport.[17] The transfer of power led to a situation where as many as 1,000 people were left waiting to get out of the airport, stranded for several days.[18] Following the resumption of Taliban rule, agreement was reached with the UAE that allowed GAAC to administer airport security,[19] and with Uzbekistan to train 20 Afghan specialists in air traffic control at the airport and to replace the antiquated air navigation equipment.[20]
Airlines and destinations
As of October2023,[update] the following airlines provide travel services at Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport:[21]
Smith, Harvey Henry (1969). Area Handbook for Afghanistan (fourthed.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p.36. The airports at Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz were built with United States assistance.
