Early years Mazar-i-Sharif Airport was built in the 1960s by the United States during the
Cold War, when the Soviets and the Americans were engaged in extending political ties in the
Middle East and
South Asia. At that time the
Soviet Union was less than 50 miles north of Mazar-i-Sharif. During the 1970s, the airport began seeing a gradual increase in air traveling. For the first time large number of foreign tourists began arriving to see historical places in the city. The airport was heavily used in the 1980s by the
Soviet forces from which they launched daily flight missions to hit targets in the
Mujahideen controlled territories of Afghanistan. It also served as one of the main hubs for deploying troops from the neighboring former Soviet Union.
21st century at
Camp Marmal in 2012 In 2005,
Camp Marmal was built next to the airport, which gradually expanded to one of the largest military bases in Afghanistan. In 2006, after
Germany took command of the
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the airfield functioned as a main hub for the exchange of personnel as well as air cargo. Since 2008 a
TACAN installation for an instrument landing system was available for bad weather operation. It served all ISAF personnel, including American and
Afghan Armed Forces. Work on a new international terminal began in 2010 and was completed in 2013. A special inauguration ceremony was held in June 2013, which was attended by then-German Foreign Minister
Guido Westerwelle, Afghanistan's
Transport and Aviation Minister Daoud Ali Najafi, Balkh's Governor
Atta Muhammad Nur and some parliamentarians. After the inauguration, the airport was given the name Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi International Airport. This was to honor the renowned 13th-century poet
Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi, also known as
Rumi. The expansion of the airport was a joint venture of Germany and the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), cost 60 million euros and took about three years to complete. The project was overseen by a Turkish company. On 30 June 2014 the
Royal Netherlands Air Force detachment of
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon's ended. In August 2021, forces of the
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) took control of the airport. The transfer of power led to a situation where as many as 1,000 people were left waiting to get out of the airport, stranded for several days. Following the return of Taliban rule, agreement was reached with the UAE that allowed GAAC to administer airport security, and with
Uzbekistan to train 20 Afghan specialists in air traffic control at the airport and to replace the antiquated air navigation equipment. ==Airlines and destinations==