Jalalabad Airport

Pashto: د جلال آباد هوايي ډګر
View of the airport's control tower in 2008
Summary
Airport typePublic / Military
Owner Afghanistan
Operator
ServesNangarhar Province
LocationJalalabad, Afghanistan
Built1960s[2]
Elevation AMSL1,840 ft / 561 m
Coordinates34°24′01″N 70°29′54″E / 34.40028°N 70.49833°E / 34.40028; 70.49833 (Jalalabad Airport (Jalalabad))
Map
JAA is located in Afghanistan
JAA
JAA
Location of airport in Afghanistan
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
13/31 7,260 2,213 Asphalt
Source: Google Earth,[3] Landings.com,[4] AIP Afghanistan[5]

Jalalabad Airport (Pashto: د جلال اباد هوايي ډګر; IATA: JAA, ICAO: OAJL), also known as Nangarhar Airport,[6][1] is located next to the Kabul–Jalalabad Road, about 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Jalalabad, which is the capital of Nangarhar Province in Afghanistan.[7] It is a domestic airport under the country's Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (MoTCA),[1] and serves the population of not only Nangarhar but also neighboring Kunar, Nuristan and Laghman provinces. It is also used by the Ministry of Defense for military purposes. Security in and around the airport is provided by the Afghan National Security Forces.

Situated at an elevation of 1,840 feet (561 m) above sea level, Jalalabad Airport has one asphalt runway measuring around 7,260 by 140 feet (2,213 m × 43 m). It also has at least 18 helipads, a number of hangars and buildings used for military purposes.[3] The other closest major public Afghan airports to Jalalabad are the Kabul International Airport in neighboring Kabul Province to the west and Khost Airport in Khost Province to the south.

Jalalabad Airport was used in the past by the United States Armed Forces and civilian contractors. They operated out of Forward Operating Base Fenty. Members of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and later Resolute Support Mission (RSM) also used the airport in the past.[7][8]

History

Work on the airport began in the 1950s when Afghanistan was ruled by King Zahir Shah.[9] It was modernized during the 1960s with United States assistance.[2] During its failed 1980s Soviet–Afghan War, the Soviet Union turned the civilian airport into a military air base. In 1989 the Afghan Interim Government attempted to take the Airport in what became the Battle of Jalalabad Airport.[10] They were unsuccessful and pushed out by Government forces. It was recently expanded by NATO forces during their decades-long war with the Taliban.

New Jalalabad Airport

According to MoTCA, a new airport will be built in the Kuz Kunar District of Nangarhar Province.[11]

Airlines and destinations

Jalalabad Airport handles only domestic flights. According to MoTCA, "there will be three to four flights each week."[1] Between August 2021 and July 2022, there were no scheduled airlines operating at Jalalabad Airport except those operated by the Afghan Air Force and United Nations agencies.[6][12]

Accidents and incidents

A U.S. Air Force C-130 at Jalalabad Airport in 2011

2010 militant attack

On 30 June 2010, a car bomb was set off and insurgents stormed the airport. According to Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said the Taliban were responsible and killed 32 Afghan and non-Afghan security forces. According to NATO, there were eight Taliban deaths and one Afghan and one coalition member injured.[13][14]

2015 aircraft crash

11 people, including 6 United States Airmen and 5 passengers and 3 local nationals, were killed when a C-130 Hercules aircraft crashed shortly after take-off from Jalalabad Airport on 2 October 2015.[15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Civilian Flights Resume at Nangarhar Airport". TOLOnews. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  2. 1 2 United States Dept. of Defense (August 1967). Capsule Facts for the Armed Forces: Afghanistan. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 3.
  3. 1 2 "Nangarhar Airport". Google Earth.
  4. ↑ Airport record for Jalalabad Airport at Landings.com. Retrieved 1 August 2013
  5. ↑ "AIP Afghanistan - Important Information". Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  6. 1 2 "'Nangarhar Airport ready for civilian flights'". Pajhwok Afghan News. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Jalalabad Airport - SKYbrary Aviation Safety". www.skybrary.aero. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  8. ↑ "OAJL - Jalalabad Airport | SkyVector". skyvector.com. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  9. ↑ "Kunduz airport preparing for foreign flights". Pajhwok Afghan News. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  10. ↑ Fleiss, Alex (5 April 2022). "What happened in the battle of Jalalabad?". Rebellion Research. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  11. ↑ "Afghan gov't to build civilian airport in eastern Nangarhar province". Xinhua. 12 July 2020. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "Jalalabad Airport Profile | CAPA". centreforaviation.com. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  13. ↑ Militants killed in airport battle Archived 3 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ Militants killed in fighting at eastern Afghanistan airport
  15. ↑ Barbara Starr and Theodore Schleifer, CNN (1 October 2015). "11 dead as U.S. aircraft crashes in eastern Afghanistan - CNNPolitics.com". CNN. Retrieved 2 October 2015. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)

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