Mazar-e-Sharif International Airport (Dari: میدان هوائی مزار شریف, Maydâne Hawâyiye Mazâre Šarif; Pashto: مزار شریف نړیوال هوايي ډګر) (IATA: MZR, ICAO: OAMS),[5] officially called Mawlana Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi International Airport,[6][7] is located about 9 km (5.6 mi) east of Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, which is around 15 minutes of driving distance from the center of the city.

Mazar-i-Sharif Airport was built in the 1960s by the United States during the Cold War,[2] when the Soviets and the Americans were engaged in extending political ties in the Middle East and South Asia.

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.

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.

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.