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68-432: Kabul International Airport ( IATA : KBL , ICAO : OAKB ) is located in the northern part of Kabul , Afghanistan . It is one of the country's main international airports , capable of housing over a hundred military and civilian aircraft. It is currently operated by UAE -based GAAC Holding and Afghanistan's Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation . The airport was originally named as Khwaja Rawash Airport because it

136-690: A third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington , Virginia , just outside Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville , in rural Pennsylvania , after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. , to target the White House , or the US Capitol . No one aboard the flights survived. The death toll among responders including firefighters and police

204-550: A new airport is built, replacing the old one, leaving the city's new "major" airport (or the only remaining airport) code to no longer correspond with the city's name. The original airport in Nashville, Tennessee, was built in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration and called Berry Field with the designation, BNA. A new facility known as Nashville International Airport was built in 1987 but still uses BNA. This

272-499: Is GSN and its IATA code is SPN, and some coincide with IATA codes of non-U.S. airports. Canada's unusual codes—which bear little to no similarity with any conventional abbreviation to the city's name—such as YUL in Montréal , and YYZ in Toronto , originated from the two-letter codes used to identify weather reporting stations in the 1930s. The letters preceding the two-letter code follow

340-600: Is available. However, many railway administrations have their own list of codes for their stations, such as the list of Amtrak station codes . Airport codes arose out of the convenience that the practice brought pilots for location identification in the 1930s. Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. This system became unmanageable for cities and towns without an NWS identifier, and

408-518: Is different from the name in English, yet the airport code represents only the English name. Examples include: Due to scarcity of codes, some airports are given codes with letters not found in their names: The use of 'X' as a filler letter is a practice to create three-letter identifiers when more straightforward options were unavailable: Some airports in the United States retained their NWS ( National Weather Service ) codes and simply appended an X at

476-513: Is in conjunction to rules aimed to avoid confusion that seem to apply in the United States, which state that "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation." Thus, Washington, D.C. area's three airports all have radically different codes: IAD for Washington–Dulles , DCA for Washington–Reagan (District of Columbia Airport), and BWI for Baltimore (Baltimore–Washington International, formerly BAL). Since HOU

544-532: Is not followed outside the United States: In addition, since three letter codes starting with Q are widely used in radio communication, cities whose name begins with "Q" also had to find alternate codes, as in the case of: IATA codes should not be confused with the FAA identifiers of U.S. airports. Most FAA identifiers agree with the corresponding IATA codes, but some do not, such as Saipan , whose FAA identifier

612-504: Is operative and that the airport's tower is operating again. A Qatar Airways flight evacuating 113 nationals of other countries from Afghanistan was allowed to land at and depart from the airport on 9 September due to cooperation between the United States and the Taliban, marking the first such flight since the Taliban had completely taken over the facility. Meanwhile, the Taliban renamed the airport to Kabul International Airport , eliminating

680-737: Is referred to as the War in Afghanistan in order to distinguish it from the country's various other wars, notably the ongoing Afghan conflict of which it was a part, and the Soviet–Afghan War . From the perspective of the West , the war is divided between 2001 and 2014 (the ISAF mission), when most combat operations were performed by coalition forces, a 2015 to 2021 (the Resolute Support Mission ), when

748-416: Is used for William P. Hobby Airport , the new Houston–Intercontinental became IAH. The code BKK was originally assigned to Bangkok–Don Mueang and was later transferred to Suvarnabhumi Airport , while the former adopted DMK. The code ISK was originally assigned to Gandhinagar Airport (Nashik's old airport) and later on transferred to Ozar Airport (Nashik's current airport). Shanghai–Hongqiao retained

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816-561: The Canadian transcontinental railroads were built, each station was assigned its own two-letter Morse code : When the Canadian government established airports, it used the existing railway codes for them as well. If the airport had a weather station, authorities added a "Y" to the front of the code, meaning "Yes" to indicate it had a weather station or some other letter to indicate it did not. When international codes were created in cooperation with

884-535: The Talib who sought to end warlordism in Afghanistan through stricter adherence to Sharia . On 27 September 1996, the Taliban, with military support by Pakistan and financial support from Saudi Arabia , seized Kabul and founded the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan . The Taliban imposed their fundamentalist Deobandi interpretation of Islam in areas under their control, issuing edicts forbidding women to work outside

952-608: The United States Armed Forces and NATO 's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and later the Resolute Support Mission (RS). The Afghan Air Force also had a base at the airport, with the Afghan National Security Forces providing security inside the passenger terminals. Prior to the withdrawal of US-led forces in 2021, the airport provided scheduled flights to and from China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and

1020-573: The United States Armed Forces in October 2008. It houses the command facilities for the Afghan Air Force (AAF), and includes housing, administrative, operations, maintenance and recreation facilities. The project included two new hangar complexes, a new taxiway and ramps. It is the headquarters and main base (1st or 201st Wing) of the Afghan Air Force. The first hangar facility was turned over to

1088-582: The killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011, and NATO leaders began planning an exit strategy from Afghanistan. On 28 December 2014, NATO formally ended ISAF combat operations in Afghanistan and officially transferred full security responsibility to the Afghan government. Unable to eliminate the Taliban through military means, coalition forces (and separately, the Afghan government led by Ashraf Ghani ) turned to diplomacy to end

1156-489: The 1978 Saur Revolution , especially after the 1979 Soviet invasion . The airport was used by the Soviet Army during the Soviet–Afghan War from 1979 to 1989, and by the military forces of the former President of Afghanistan , Mohammad Najibullah . Control of the airport switched between different sides during the civil war after 1992. By November 1996, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan governed by Mullah Muhammad Omar

1224-421: The 1990s in clandestine operations to locate and kill or capture Osama bin Laden. These teams planned several operations but did not receive the order to proceed from President Clinton. Their efforts built relationships with Afghan leaders that proved essential in the 2001 invasion. On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, a total of 19 men affiliated with Al-Qaeda carried out four coordinated attacks in

1292-555: The AAF in January 2008. The second hangar was completed later that year. In July 2021, the Taliban took over many areas in Afghanistan, including those near Kabul Airport. Turkey announced that it would provide security at the airport. U.S. and NATO forces were still deployed at the airport as well. A few weeks later, Kabul fell into the hands of the Taliban , prompting hundreds of people to flee to

1360-609: The Afghan armed forces did most of the fighting against the Taliban. The war was named Operation Enduring Freedom from 2001 to 2014 and as Operation Freedom's Sentinel from 2015 to 2021 by the US. Alternatively, it has been called the US War in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan itself, the war is known as simply the "War in Afghanistan" ( Dari : جنگ در افغانستان Jang dar Afghanistan , Pashto : د افغانستان جګړه Da Afghanistan Jagra ). The Taliban emerged from religious students known as

1428-620: The ISAF took over control, the airport began to be developed slowly over the years. A new radar system was installed in 2005, which was upgraded by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in 2010. A new $ 35 million terminal for international flights was inaugurated in November 2008, built with aid from the Japan International Cooperation Agency . This terminal has two jetbridges .The then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai attended

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1496-1133: The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan: 3,000–3,500 [REDACTED] Taliban : 58,000-100,000 (As of February 2021) [REDACTED] HIG : 1,500–2,000+ (2014) [REDACTED] al-Qaeda : ~300 in 2016 (~ 3,000 in 2001) [REDACTED] Fidai Mahaz : 8,000 (2013) Afghan security forces: 66,000–69,095 killed Northern Alliance: 200 killed Coalition : Dead: 3,579 Wounded: 23,536 Contractors Dead: 3,917 Wounded: 15,000+ Taliban insurgents : 52,893 killed (2,000+ al-Qaeda fighters) Civilians killed: 70,000 Total killed: 176,206 (per Brown University ) 212,191+ (per UCDP ) The continued list includes nations who have contributed fewer than 200 troops as of November 2014. Timeline Major operations Airstrikes Major insurgent attacks 2002 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Massacres Other The War in Afghanistan

1564-460: The Levant - Khorasan (ISIS-K) claimed responsibility. The last American forces departed from the airport around midnight on 30 August, ending U.S. involvement in the 20-year war. The Taliban subsequently took control of the airport. Rough estimates by the Taliban calculated the damage to the airport at around $ 350 million. Abdul Hadi Hamadan, the Taliban head of the airport, later stated that the damage to

1632-649: The Persian Gulf region . The most frequently serviced destination from the airport has been Dubai in the UAE , with no fewer than four passenger airlines flying the route, and some with multiple daily flights. Other nearby major airports to Kabul are Bagram Air Base in neighboring Parwan Province to the north, Jalalabad Airport in Nangarhar Province to the east, Khost International Airport in Khost Province to

1700-564: The September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush demanded that the Taliban immediately extradite al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to the United States; the Taliban refused to do so without evidence of Bin Laden's involvement. After the expelling of the Taliban and their allies, the US-led coalition remained in Afghanistan, forming a security mission (ISAF)—sanctioned by the United Nations —with

1768-696: The Taliban against the United Front. A smaller number were inducted into Al-Qaeda. After the August 1998 United States embassy bombings were linked to bin Laden, President Bill Clinton ordered missile strikes on militant training camps in Afghanistan. US officials pressed the Taliban to surrender bin Laden. In 1999, the international community imposed sanctions on the Taliban, calling for bin Laden to be surrendered. The Taliban repeatedly rebuffed these demands. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Special Activities Division paramilitary teams were active in Afghanistan in

1836-612: The Taliban and other Islamist groups waged asymmetric warfare , fighting with guerrilla warfare in the countryside, suicide attacks against urban targets, and reprisals against perceived Afghan collaborators. By 2007, large parts of Afghanistan had been retaken by the Taliban. In response, the coalition sent a major influx of troops for counter-insurgency operations , with a " clear and hold " strategy for villages and towns; this influx peaked in 2011, when roughly 140,000 foreign troops were operating under ISAF command across Afghanistan. A US covert operation in neighboring Pakistan led to

1904-768: The Taliban controlled as much as 90% of Afghanistan, with the Northern Alliance confined to the country's northeast corner. Fighting alongside Taliban forces were some 28,000–30,000 Pakistanis (usually also Pashtun) and 2,000–3,000 Al-Qaeda militants. The 9/11 Commission in the US found that under the Taliban, Al-Qaeda was able to use Afghanistan as a place to train and teach fighters, import weapons, coordinate with other jihadists , and plot terrorist actions. While Al-Qaeda maintained its own camps in Afghanistan , it also supported training camps of other organizations. An estimated 10,000 to 20,000 men passed through these facilities before 9/11, most of whom were sent to fight for

1972-1007: The U.S. For example, several airports in Alaska have scheduled commercial service, such as Stebbins and Nanwalek , which use FAA codes instead of ICAO codes. Thus, neither system completely includes all airports with scheduled service. Some airports are identified in colloquial speech by their IATA code. Examples include LAX and JFK . War in Afghanistan (2001%E2%80%93present) Invasion (2001): [REDACTED]   Northern Alliance [REDACTED]   United States [REDACTED]   United Kingdom [REDACTED]   Canada RS phase (2015–2021): [REDACTED] ISAF : 130,000+ (Peak Strength) [REDACTED] Afghan National Defense and Security Forces : 307,947 (Peak Strength, January 2021) [REDACTED] Resolute Support Mission : 17,178 (Peak Strength, October 2019) Defence Contractors: 117,227 (Peak Strength, Q2 2012) [REDACTED] High Council of

2040-481: The United States, because "Y" was seldom used in the United States, Canada simply used the weather station codes for its airports, changing the "Y" to a "Z" if it conflicted with an airport code already in use. The result is that most major Canadian airport codes start with "Y" followed by two letters in the city's name (for example, YOW for O tta w a , YWG for W innipe g , YYC for C algar y , or YVR for V ancouve r ), whereas other Canadian airports append

2108-586: The United States. Four commercial passenger jet airliners were hijacked. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and more than 2,000 people in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours from damage related to the crashes, destroying and damaging nearby buildings. The hijackers crashed

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2176-451: The airport after former Afghan President Hamid Karzai , a month after his tenure ended, in recognition of his services and contributions to the country's rebuilding. This decision was approved by the Cabinet of the new President Ashraf Ghani , which renamed the structure as Hamid Karzai International Airport . The North Side Cantonment – Kabul Airport facility was completed and turned over to

2244-494: The airport in an attempt to leave the country. Seven people were alleged to have died at the airport after the crowds consisting of hundreds of people tried to forcibly enter planes leaving the airport. US forces fired in the air to prevent the crowds running onto the tarmac and runways. On 16 August 2021, the US Deputy Security Advisor announced the deployment of more forces to secure the airport. The Pentagon confirmed

2312-473: The airport is surrounded by parts of the Hindu Kush mountains. It serves as a hub for Ariana Airlines and Kam Air . International companies such as Air Arabia , Flydubai and Turkish Airlines also provide passenger services. The airport has two separate terminals, one for international passengers and the other for domestic flights. It also has a number of empty military bases, which were previously used by

2380-440: The airport itself instead of the city it serves, while another code is reserved which refers to the city itself which can be used to search for flights to any of its airports. For instance: Or using a code for the city in one of the major airports and then assigning another code to another airport: When different cities with the same name each have an airport, they need to be assigned different codes. Examples include: Sometimes,

2448-418: The airport's former name, such as Orlando International Airport 's MCO (for Mc C o y Air Force Base), or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport , which is coded ORD for its original name: Or char d Field. In rare cases, the code comes from the airport's unofficial name, such as Kahului Airport 's OGG (for local aviation pioneer Jimmy H ogg ). In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often named after

2516-412: The airport's runway. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid stated on 6 September that Turkey and Qatar were trying to restart all flights from the airport. On 8 September 2021, a NOTAM was issued by the airport's NOTAM office, indicating that the airport is operating between 03:30 and 13:30 Coordinated Universal Time . Additional NOTAMs issued that day indicate that the airports instrument landing system

2584-615: The airport's terminal alone due to the evacuation was $ 1 million. Several novels have been published following the dramatic US evacuation from the country. Those titles include: "Life and Death at Abbey Gate", "Saving Aziz", "Always Faithful", and "Kabul". Following the Taliban takeover, the airport was closed. Much of its infrastructure had been degraded or destroyed during the evacuation. According to Qatari Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani , Qatar

2652-774: The airport. A four-lane highway connects the airport to Kabul. IATA airport code The assignment of these codes is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by the IATA's headquarters in Montreal , Canada. The codes are published semi-annually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory. IATA provides codes for airport handling entities, and for certain railway stations. Alphabetical lists of airports sorted by IATA code are available. A list of railway station codes , shared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak , SNCF , and Deutsche Bahn ,

2720-486: The airport. Meanwhile, the security of the airport was handed over to the Al-Fatah Brigade of the special forces of the group on 3 September. The airport reopened for Ariana Afghan Airlines ' domestic flights between Kabul and the cities of Herat , Mazar-i-Sharif and Kandahar , as well as for receiving aid from other countries, on 4 September, following work carried out by a technical team from Qatar, which repaired

2788-524: The anti-Taliban Northern Alliance ; Osama bin Laden, meanwhile, relocated to neighboring Pakistan . The conflict officially ended with the 2021 Taliban offensive , which overthrew the Islamic Republic, and re-established the Islamic Emirate. It was the longest war in the military history of the United States , surpassing the length of the Vietnam War (1955–1975) by approximately six months. Following

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2856-491: The code SHA, while the newer Shanghai–Pudong adopted PVG. The opposite was true for Berlin : the airport Berlin–Tegel used the code TXL, while its smaller counterpart Berlin–Schönefeld used SXF; the Berlin Brandenburg Airport has the airport code BER, which is also part of its branding. The airports of Hamburg (HAM) and Hannover (HAJ) are less than 100 nautical miles (190 km) apart and therefore share

2924-523: The conflict. These efforts culminated in the United States–Taliban deal in February 2020, which stipulated the withdrawal of all US troops from Afghanistan by 2021. In exchange, the Taliban pledged to prevent any militant group from staging attacks from Afghan territory against the US and its allies. However, the Afghan government was not a party to the deal and rejected its terms. Coinciding with

2992-874: The end. Examples include: A lot of minor airfields without scheduled passenger traffic have ICAO codes but not IATA codes, since the four letter codes allow more number of codes, and IATA codes are mainly used for passenger services such as tickets, and ICAO codes by pilots. In the US, such airfields use FAA codes instead of ICAO. There are airports with scheduled service for which there are ICAO codes but not IATA codes, such as Nkhotakota Airport/Tangole Airport in Malawi or Chōfu Airport in Tokyo, Japan. There are also several minor airports in Russia (e.g., Omsukchan Airport ) which lack IATA codes and instead use internal Russian codes for booking. Flights to these airports cannot be booked through

3060-557: The first three letters of the city in which it is located, for instance: The code may also be a combination of the letters in its name, such as: Sometimes the airport code reflects pronunciation, rather than spelling, namely: For many reasons, some airport codes do not fit the normal scheme described above. Some airports, for example, cross several municipalities or regions, and therefore, use codes derived from some of their letters, resulting in: Other airports—particularly those serving cities with multiple airports—have codes derived from

3128-474: The following format: Most large airports in Canada have codes that begin with the letter "Y", although not all "Y" codes are Canadian (for example, YUM for Yuma, Arizona , and YNT for Yantai , China), and not all Canadian airports start with the letter "Y" (for example, ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick ). Many Canadian airports have a code that starts with W, X or Z, but none of these are major airports. When

3196-593: The form of " YYZ ", a song by the rock band Rush , which utilizes the Morse code signal as a musical motif. Some airports have started using their IATA codes as brand names , such as Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Numerous New Zealand airports use codes that contain the letter Z, to distinguish them from similar airport names in other countries. Examples include HLZ for Hamilton , ZQN for Queenstown , and WSZ for Westport . Predominantly, airport codes are named after

3264-410: The goal of creating a new democratic authority in the country that would prevent the Taliban from returning to power. A new Afghan Interim Administration was established, and international rebuilding efforts were launched. By 2003, the Taliban had reorganized under their founder, Mullah Omar , and began a widespread insurgency against the new Afghan government and coalition forces. Insurgents from

3332-848: The head of U.S. Central Command , General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. , met Taliban leaders in Qatar . The Taliban officials agreed to terms set by McKenzie for refugees to flee using the Kabul International Airport. Following the fall of Kabul, the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police abandoned their posts. U.S. and allied forces subsequently took over the posts. On 16 August 2021, all commercial flights from Kabul Airport were cancelled indefinitely. On 26 August 2021, more than 100 people were killed in an explosion outside Kabul Airport. The Islamic State of Iraq and

3400-457: The home, attend school or to leave their homes unless accompanied by a male relative. According to the United Nations (UN), the Taliban, while trying to consolidate control over northern and western Afghanistan, committed systematic massacres against civilians. UN officials stated that there had been "15 massacres" between 1996 and 2001, many of them targeting Shias and Hazaras . By 2001,

3468-516: The inauguration ceremony. The new terminal was officially opened to international flights in June 2009. The existing terminal has been refurbished and used for domestic flights. Passenger movements reached 100,000 per year by 2010, or 300 per day. In early 2012, the radar system was upgraded to cover Afghanistan's entire air space. In October 2014, the National Assembly of Afghanistan proposed naming

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3536-482: The international air booking systems or have international luggage transferred there, and thus, they are booked instead through the airline or a domestic booking system. Several heliports in Greenland have 3-letter codes used internally which might be IATA codes for airports in faraway countries. There are several airports with scheduled service that have not been assigned ICAO codes that do have IATA codes, especially in

3604-612: The name of the airport itself, for instance: This is also true with some cities with a single airport (even if there is more than one airport in the metropolitan area of said city), such as BDL for Hartford, Connecticut 's B ra dl ey International Airport or Baltimore's BWI, for B altimore/ W ashington I nternational Airport ; however, the latter also serves Washington, D.C. , alongside Dulles International Airport (IAD, for I nternational A irport D ulles) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA, for D istrict of C olumbia A irport). The code also sometimes comes from

3672-416: The one they are located in: Other airport codes are of obscure origin, and each has its own peculiarities: In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata 's KIJ , Nanchang 's KHN and Pyongyang 's FNJ . EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg , which serves three countries, has three airport codes: BSL, MLH, EAP. Some cities have a name in their respective language which

3740-406: The problems at the airport had been resolved and asked international airlines to resume their flights, promising full cooperation. The airport has two terminals: the original that opened in 1960 and a newer building that opened in 2008. The terminal that opened in 2008 is used for international flights; the original 1960 Soviet-constructed terminal is used for domestic flights. Several hangars along

3808-443: The protracted US-led military presence in the country. Overall, the war killed an estimated 176,000–212,000+ people, including 46,319 civilians. While more than 5.7 million former refugees returned to Afghanistan after the 2001 invasion, by the time the Taliban returned to power in 2021, 2.6 million Afghans remained refugees , while another 4 million were internally displaced . This twenty-year armed conflict (2001–2021)

3876-424: The reference to former Afghan President Hamid Karzai . A Pakistan International Airlines flight landed at the airport on 13 September, marking the first international commercial flight to land since the Taliban takeover. Mahan Air resumed flights to the airport on 15 September, marking resumption of commercial flights between Iran and Afghanistan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 26 September announced that

3944-501: The runway are for military aircraft. There are no hangars for civilian (or transient) aircraft. The airport has seven helicopter pads which are used mostly for military traffic. Fire fighting equipment is present. The firefighting equipment has a present capacity of up to 12,000 litres (2,600 imp gal; 3,200 US gal) of water and has the ability to reach 90 metres (300 ft) in height to manage fire outbreaks. Buses, taxi and private cars provide transportation to and from

4012-501: The same first and middle letters, indicating that this rule might be followed only in Germany. Many cities retain historical names in their airport codes, even after having undergone an official name/spelling/transliteration change: Some airport codes are based on previous names associated with a present airport, often with a military heritage. These include: Some airports are named for an administrative division or nearby city, rather than

4080-580: The southeast, and Bamyan Airport in Bamyan Province to the northwest. Kabul Airport was originally built during the Kingdom of Amanullah Khan in the 1920s, which housed aircraft of the Afghan Air Force and Afghan Post . It was modernized in 1960 by Soviet engineers. The airport was locally named Khwaja Rawash Airport because it was built in the area called Khwaja Rawash. Foreign tourists began visiting Afghanistan via Kabul Airport. This era ended after

4148-497: The station code of Malton, Mississauga , where it is located). YUL is used for Montréal–Trudeau (UL was the ID code for the beacon in the city of Kirkland , now the location of Montréal–Trudeau). While these codes make it difficult for the public to associate them with a particular Canadian city, some codes have become popular in usage despite their cryptic nature, particularly at the largest airports. Toronto's code has entered pop culture in

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4216-504: The two-letter code of the radio beacons that were the closest to the actual airport, such as YQX in Gander or YXS in Prince George . Four of the ten provincial capital airports in Canada have ended up with codes beginning with YY, including: Canada's largest airport is YYZ for Toronto Pearson (as YTZ was already allocated to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , the airport was given

4284-529: The use of two letters allowed only a few hundred combinations; a three-letter system of airport codes was implemented. This system allowed for 17,576 permutations, assuming all letters can be used in conjunction with each other. Since the U.S. Navy reserved "N" codes, and to prevent confusion with Federal Communications Commission broadcast call signs , which begin with "W" or "K", the airports of certain U.S. cities whose name begins with one of these letters had to adopt "irregular" airport codes: This practice

4352-461: The withdrawal of troops, the Taliban launched a broad offensive throughout the summer of 2021, successfully reestablishing their control over Afghanistan, including the capital city of Kabul on 15 August . On the same day, the last president of the Islamic Republic, Ashraf Ghani, fled the country; the Taliban declared victory and the war was formally brought to a close. By 30 August, the last American military aircraft departed from Afghanistan , ending

4420-625: Was an armed conflict that took place from 2001 to 2021. Launched as a direct response to the September 11 attacks , the war began when an international military coalition led by the United States invaded Afghanistan , declaring Operation Enduring Freedom as part of the earlier-declared war on terror , toppling the Taliban -ruled Islamic Emirate , and establishing the Islamic Republic three years later. The Taliban and its allies were expelled from major population centers by US-led forces supporting

4488-518: Was built in the area named Khwaja Rawash. It was given the name Kabul Airport in 1960 after the Soviet Union built a terminal and a concrete runway. From 2014 to 2021, it was named Hamid Karzai International Airport in honor of former President Hamid Karzai . After the Taliban returned to power in 2021, the name was changed back to Kabul International Airport. Sitting at an altitude of approximately 1,791 m (5,876 ft) above sea level ,

4556-413: Was in possession of the airport, until late 2001 when they fled the city after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan . Due to international sanctions during the Taliban government, the airport was closed in the late 1990s, with very limited international flights. Following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks , Kabul Airport was bombed by United States and coalition forces. After

4624-526: Was to send technical assistance to Afghanistan to help reopen the airport as soon as possible. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu , the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey , stated that the Taliban and other countries had requested Turkey for help in resuming operations at the airport. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands , Sigrid Kaag , stated that her government was willing to support Turkey and Qatar in reopening

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