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Khost International Airport

Coordinates: 33°20′01″N 069°57′09″E / 33.33361°N 69.95250°E / 33.33361; 69.95250 (Khost Airport (Khost))
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Khost International Airport

Pashto: د خوست هوايي ډګر
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner Afghanistan
OperatorMinistry of Transport and Civil Aviation
ServesLoya Paktia region[1]
LocationKhost, Afghanistan
Elevation AMSL3,760 ft / 1,146 m
Coordinates33°20′01″N 069°57′09″E / 33.33361°N 69.95250°E / 33.33361; 69.95250 (Khost Airport (Khost))
Map
KHT is located in Afghanistan
KHT
KHT
Location of airport in Afghanistan
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
06/24 8,740 2,664 Asphalt

Khost International Airport,[4] formerly known as Khost Airport (Pashto: د خوست هوايي ډګر; IATA: KHT, ICAO: OAKS), is located in the eastern section of Khost, which is the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan.[5] The airport is under the country's Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, and is used for domestic and international flights.[6][7] The Ministry of Defense also uses it for emergency relief purposes such as when the June 2022 Afghanistan earthquake occurred.

The airport sits at an elevation of 1,457 ft (444 m) above sea level. It has one runway with an asphalt surface measuring 8,740 ft × 148 ft (2,664 m × 45 m).[2][3] It provides air transportation to the entire Loya Paktia region.[8]

Other nearby major airports to Khost are Kabul International Airport to the north, Nangarhar Airport to the northeast, Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport in Kandahar to the southwest, and Ghazni Airport to the west.

Airlines and destinations

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AirlinesDestinations
Ariana Afghan AirlinesAl Ain[6][4]

History

[edit]
Further information: Train Advise Assist Command – East

During the 1980s Soviet–Afghan War, Khost Airport was occupied by the invading Soviet Union forces.[9] It was then occupied by Americans during the 2001–2021 U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. The United States built a military base there known as Forward Operating Base Chapman.

There had been three major reported accidents, all of them during the 1980s mujahideen fighting and involved Soviet-made Antonov An-26 aircraft.[10]

In December 2009, seven CIA employees were killed in a suicide attack at the nearby Forward Operating Base Chapman (FOB Chapman). The bomber, Humam Balawi of Jordan, wore a suicide vest and blew himself up in the base, killing the base commander, CIA agents and civilian contractors.

Work to improve and expand Khost Airport began in late 2011.[11] Civilian passengers between Khost and Kabul were allowed to use NATO's Sehra Bagh Airport until Khost Airport was completed.[12] It was announced that the airport will become international in the future, taking passengers to and from the United Arab Emirates.[1][13]

The airport was officially inaugurated in July 2021 by then-President Ashraf Ghani,[14] who was there to personally welcome passengers of a flight from Dubai.

In August 2021, security forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) took control of the airport from the NATO-trained Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).[15]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "International contractors to control Khost airport". Pajhwok Afghan News. January 23, 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  2. ^ a b "President Ghani Inaugurates Khost Airport Runway". Ariana News. April 9, 2018. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  3. ^ a b "President Ghani inaugurates runway of Khost province airport". Khaama Press. April 9, 2018. Retrieved 2022-07-19.
  4. ^ a b "AAA resumes Khost-UAE flights". Pajhwok Afghan News. January 27, 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  5. ^ "OAKS - Khost Airport | SkyVector". skyvector.com. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  6. ^ a b "Local, Intl Flights Out of Khost Begin". TOLOnews. January 26, 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  7. ^ "Afghan Civilian and Military Airports Resume Activities". TOLOnews. January 29, 2022. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  8. ^ "Evaluation Delegation 'bypassed' in Khost Airport contract". Pajhwok Afghan News. February 27, 2019. Retrieved 2021-09-11.
  9. ^ Warrick, Joby, The Triple Agent, New York: Doubleday, 2011. p. 26
  10. ^ "Khost Airport profile". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
  11. ^ "Construction work on Khost airport launched". Pajhwok Afghan News. September 21, 2011. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  12. ^ "Kabul-Khost flights formally begin". Pajhwok Afghan News. January 11, 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
  13. ^ "'Khost airport project work not up to standard'". Pajhwok Afghan News. January 28, 2017. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
  14. ^ "President Ghani Inaugurates Khost International Airport". Bakhtar News Agency. July 11, 2021.
  15. ^ "The Latest: US aims to secure Kabul airport for departures". AP NEWS. 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
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