Herat International Airport

Herat International Airport Persian: میدان هوایی بین المللی هرات‎‎
A Pamir Airways parked at the airport in 2010
IATA: HEA ICAO: OAHR
Summary
Airport type	Public/Military
Owner	Afghanistan
Operator	Afghan Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation / ISAF
Location	Herat
Elevation AMSL	3,290 ft / 1,003 m
Coordinates	34°12′36″N 62°13′42″E / 34.21000°N 62.22833°E / 34.21000; 62.22833 (Herat Airport (Herat))Coordinates: 34°12′36″N 62°13′42″E / 34.21000°N 62.22833°E / 34.21000; 62.22833 (Herat Airport (Herat))
Map
HEA Location of airport in Afghanistan
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 18/36 9 888 3 014 Paved
Source: Landings.com, AIP Afghanistan

Herat International Airport (IATA: HEA, ICAO: OAHR) is located 10.5 km (6.5 mi) southeast of the city of Herat in western Afghanistan, east of the Herat-Farah road, close to Guzara in the Guzara District of the Herat Province. It is Afghanistan's third largest commercial airport after Kabul International Airport, and Kandahar International Airport.

The airport was originally built by engineers from the United States in the late 1950s. During the 1980s Soviet war, it was heavily used by the Soviets to launch bombardment missions on Mujahideen rebel forces. The airport was a base for military fighters and transport aircraft (likely Antonov An-26, Antonov An-32 and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21). During the late 2001 Operation Enduring Freedom, it was bombed by US and/or British aircraft. On 12 November 2001, the 2001 uprising in Herat broke out, and the Taliban were ousted from the area. Elements of the U.S. Army Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 554 ("Texas 08") arrived at the airport soon afterwards, and in the words of the team's report: "...directly negotiate[d] with local commanders for the placement of multinational humanitarian assistance teams to be stationed" at the airport. From 2002 to 2005, the U.S.-led coalition forces ran international operations at the airport.