Kandahar International Airport

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Kandahar International Airport
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		31°30′21″N, 65°50′52″E
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
05/23	10,498	3,200	Paved

Kandahar International Airport (more commonly known as Kandahar Airport) (IATA: KDH, ICAO: OAKN) is located 10 miles (16 kilometers) south-east of Kandahar City in Afghanistan. The airport was built by the United States in the 1960s, under the United States Agency for International Development program. It may have been intended to be used as a possible U.S. military base in case the United States and former USSR went to war. It was occupied by the Soviets in 1979, and was severely damaged during the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s. It received further damages again during the US raids in October 2001, when the Taliban government was being removed.

As of 2007, Kandahar Airport has been rebuilt and is used for both military and civilian flights.^[1] Since 2006 the airfield has been maintained by the Canadians, but there are also other NATO forces present. It is sometimes difficult to locate the airport from the sky during day-time because of lack of contrast with the ground and the usual dust or haze in the area. But during night time the runway is well lit up and can easily be spotted.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Construction 1.2 Soviet era 1.3 Taliban era 1.4 Operation Enduring Freedom 1.5 Canadian forces in 2006 2 Airlines and destinations 3 See also 4 References 5 External links 6 Gallery

[edit] History

[edit] Construction

The airfield itself was built between 1956 and 1962 by American consultants, for a cost of USD 15 million. Bearing a great resemblance to typical U.S. architecture of the time, its' original purpose was as a refueling stop for long-range piston engined aircraft traveling between the Middle East and Southeast Asia. However, with the advent of jet aircraft, such stops were no longer necessary, and the airport saw little use.^[2] Since the airport was designed as a military base, it is more likely that the United States intended to use it as such in case there was a show-down of war between the United States and former USSR. While the United States was busy building Kandahar Airport, the USSR was busy in the north building Kabul Airport.

[edit] Soviet era

During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the airfield was used intensively by the Soviet Air Forces, both as logistical facility for flying in troops and supplies and as a base for launching airstrikes against local Mujahideen groups^[3].

Fighting in the Kandahar area was particularly intense, and Soviet bombing campaigns destroyed much of the city and many of the surrounding villages^[4].

[edit] Taliban era

The airport came into the public eye during the tense drama that was played out when Pakistan-backed terrorists, who hijacked and landed Indian Airlines Flight 814 on the airfield in December 1999, ordered the Indian Government to ensure the release and safe-passage of three alleged Pakistani terrorists in return for letting the occupants of the passenger plane leave without harm. Although the exact nature of the deal that was struck between the Indian Government and the Pakistan-backed hijacking group is not known at this point, it did secure the release of the 3 prisoners who were being held in a prison in India.

[edit] Operation Enduring Freedom

Marines of the United States Marine Corps landed at Kandahar in late 2001 and took over control of the airport. It was occupied and maintained by the Military of the United States since then. As part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy also has based a squadron of Harrier GR7A aircraft at Kandahar Airfield to provide close air support to coalition ground forces.^[5] 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 late 2006.

The government of Afghanistan has been slow in rebuilding the facility, the vast majority of it has been reclaimed from years of neglect and damage by Soviet and Taliban 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 currently used for civilian flights. It was used for the 2006 Hajj by Muslim pilgrims.

[edit] Canadian forces in 2006

With the closure of Camp Julien in Kabul on November 29, 2005, most of the Canadian Forces personnel in Afghanistan were transferred to Kandahar province in the southern part of the country. Canadian Brigadier-General David Fraser took command of the multinational brigade from its headquarters at Kandahar Airfield (KAF) in March 2006.

At the same time, Canada also fielded a battle group for two successive six-month rotations, and deployed a new rotation for the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) at Camp Nathan Smith in Kandahar. Since 2007, the airport is maintained by the United Nations under the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) banner, although a prominent base for the US and Canadian Forces, Many other Armed Forces are based there. British Forces use Kandahar as there main staging post for the South and fly direct into the Helmand province. Fast jets and combat helicopters are also deployed here as this is the main airport in the troubled south-east of the country.

The deployments in February 2006 brought Task Force Afghanistan in Kandahar to about 2,250 personnel. The mission of TFA was to improve the security situation in the southern areas, and play a key role in the transition from the U.S.-led multinational coalition to NATO leadership. This change was made in southern Afghanistan in the summer of 2006.^[6]

[edit] Airlines and destinations

• Ariana Afghan Airlines (Dubai, Kabul, Tehran-Imam Khomeini)
• Kam Air (Kabul, Dubai, Herat)
• Pamir Airways (Kabul)

[edit] See also

• Bagram Air Base

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Kandahar Airfield Information
• Kandahar Airfield Specifications
• Kandahar Airfield Photos

[edit] Gallery

American singer Kid Rock at Kandahar Air Base in December 2007	U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates at Kandahar Air Base in June 2007	Construction of the airport's runway in late 2006	Kandahar Airport from a far away distance
American singing band UC3 at Kandahar Air Base in 2004	Hooters calendar girls at Kandahar Air Base in 2004