Kabul International Airport

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Kabul International Airport
People boarding Ariana plane at Kabul Airport in 2005.
IATA: KBL – ICAO: OAKB
Summary
Airport type		Public/Military
Owner		Ministry of Transportation and Civil Aviation
Operator		Military of Belgium (as a part of ISAF)^[1] - 1 October 2007 to 1 October 2008
Location		Kabul
Elevation AMSL		5,877 ft / 1,789 m
Coordinates		34°33′56″N 69°12′39″E / 34.56556, 69.21083
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
11/29	10,885	3,318	Paved

Kabul International Airport (IATA: KBL, ICAO: OAKB), sometimes known as Khwaja Rawash Airport, is located 16 kilometers (9 miles) from downtown Kabul, Afghanistan. The airport is also commonly referred to as KAIA.

Kabul Airport was built in the 1970s. Due to international sanctions under the Taliban, the airport was closed, with few international flights. Following the United States attack on Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, the airport reopened. At first, it was only for the US military and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), a NATO-led peacekeeping force. After the removal of UN sanctions, in early 2002, it was finally allowed to be used for civilian airlines. The US military and ISAF (with the Romanian Air Force a lead contributor in 2005) run the airport and provide security with the Afghan authorities.

The airport had 54,300 movements in 2006. So far (July 2007) traffic has increased by 33% and is projected to end up on 66,000 movements. The average daily movement in 2007 is so far 191, and the record for 2007 is 347 movements.

1 Construction project
2 Airlines and destinations
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Construction project

The government of Afghanistan recently accepted an assistance package from the government of Japan to rebuild Kabul International Airport. The plans are to build a new 35 million US dollars modern-style terminal for international passengers, and use the existing terminal for domestic flights.

The contract has been signed with a Japanese construction company, and the work has begun in November 2006. ^[2]

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Kabul Airport in 1969

Ariana Afghan Airlines (Ankara, Baku,Delhi, Dubai, Dushanbe (Flights are suspended indefinitely), Frankfurt, Jeddah [begins Summer 2008], Islamabad, Istanbul-Atatürk, Kandahar, Tehran-Imam Khomeini (Flights are suspended), Ürümqi)
Indian Airlines (Delhi)
Iran Aseman Airlines (Mashhad)
Kam Air (Almaty (Flights are suspended indefinitely), Delhi, Dubai, Herat, Kandahar, Mashhad, Mazar-e-Sharif)
Pakistan International Airlines (Islamabad)
Pamir Airways (Dubai, Herat, Jeddah, Riyadh)
Safi Airways (London-Gatwick, Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, Sharjah)