[8] 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.

Jalalabad Airport was used in the past by the United States Armed Forces and civilian contractors.

Members of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and later Resolute Support Mission (RSM) also used the airport in the past.

[2] During the Soviet–Afghan War, the Soviet Union turned the civilian airport into a military air base, used by an Afghan Mil Mi-24 squadron in Jalalabad.

[15][16] 11 people, including 6 United States Airmen and 5 passengers and 3 local nationals, were killed when a Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules aircraft crashed shortly after take-off from Jalalabad Airport on 2 October 2015.