Kandahar Airfield
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| Kandahar Airfield | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: KDH - ICAO: OAKN | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | public/military | ||
| Operator | US Air Force/NATO | ||
| Serves | Kandahar | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 3,330 ft (1,015 m) | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 05/23 | 10,498 | 3,200 | Paved |
Kandahar Airfield (or Kandahar International Airport) (IATA: KDH, ICAO: OAKN) is located 16 kilometers (10 miles) south-east of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Kandahar Airport was built in 1960s with US financial and technical assistance under the United States Agency for International Development Program. The airport was severely damaged during the Russian attacks on the city during 1979-89 and again during the US raids in 2001.
The Airfield is sometimes difficult to locate from the air due to a lack of contrast with ground and usual dust and haze in area.
[edit] Operation Enduring Freedom
As part of the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom, the Royal Air Force has based a squadron of Harrier GR7A aircraft at Kandahar Airfield to provide close air support to coalition ground forces. [1] Eight F-16 close air support fighters of the Royal Netherlands Air Force were deployed to Kandahar Airfield to support the expanded NATO operation in Southern Afghanistan in 2006. The airfield itself was actually built in 1962 by American consultants. It bears resemblance to typical U.S. architecture of the time. While US AID has been slow to rebuild the facility, the vast majority of the facility has been reclaimed from years of neglect and damage by Russian, Taliban, and American soldiers. The interior gardens, pools, kitchen galley, restroom facility, and ticketing areas have been restored. With the transistion of the U.S. passenger area terminal to the Afghans in 2005, the airport is physically ready for civilian transfers. It was used for the 2006 Hajj by Muslim pilgrims.
