🇦🇫 Khost International Airport

Khost International Airport (IATA: KHT, ICAO: OAKS) is a public airport located in the eastern section of Khost, the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan. It is operated by Afghanistan's Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation and serves the Loya Paktia region. The airport handles both domestic and international flights, and the Ministry of Defense also utilizes it for emergency relief operations.

The airport has one asphalt runway, measuring 8,740 ft × 148 ft (2,664 m × 45 m). Its elevation is reported as 1,457 ft (444 m) above sea level by one source, and 3,760 ft (1,146 m) or 4,035 ft (1,230 m) by others.

Historically, Khost Airport was occupied by Soviet forces during the Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s and by American forces during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan from 2001-2021. During the latter period, the United States established Forward Operating Base Chapman at the airport. In 2009, a suicide attack at FOB Chapman resulted in the deaths of seven CIA employees.

Work to improve and expand the airport began in late 2011, with the aim of making it an international airport with flights to and from the United Arab Emirates. The airport was officially inaugurated in July 2021 by then-President Ashraf Ghani, who welcomed a flight from Dubai. In August 2021, security forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) took control of the airport.

*Sources researched: en.wikipedia.org, skyvector.com, universalweather.com, ourairports.com*