Kabul International Airport

Compiled by Bill Gao

Kabul, Kabul Province (Afghanistan)

IATA: KBL ICAO: OAKB

Longest Active Runway

11,483 ft

3,500 meters

Field Elevation

5,877 ft

1,791 m MSL

Runway Inventory

1 active

Lighted / Paved

Coordinates & Class

34.5659°, 69.2123°

LARGE AIRPORT

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Multi-Universe Rankings & Statistical Standing

How ranks work →

RunwayFacts Published Dataset

tied #273 of 650

In curated primary commercial index

Global Commercial Universe

#447 of 7558

Top 6.4% percentile worldwide

For airports with equal runway length, the worldwide order does not indicate a length difference.

National Standing (Afghanistan)

#1 of 4 in AF

#2 of 13 in full national registry

vs Large Airport Median

+14.8%

Compared to 10,000 ft baseline

💡 KBL in numbers: 11,483 ft longest runway · tied #273 of 650 published · #447 of 7,558 worldwide (top 6.4%) · #1 in Afghanistan.

🔬 Operational & Aerodrome Engineering Comparative Analysis

Longest runway ≥10,500 ft

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Elevation & National Context

High-Altitude Aerodrome (≥5,000 ft)

KBL lies at 1,791 m (5,877 ft), #30 of 650 published airports by elevation and 94.9 percentile among 7,558 worldwide. It is 2,605 ft above the Afghanistan median (3,272 ft, 4 airports) and the highest published airport in the country.

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Regional Density & Alternates (100 NM)

0 Qualifying Aerodromes in Vicinity

No published neighbour with a paved runway of 5,000 ft or more within 100 NM of KBL. Nearest published airport: Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport (MZR), 161 NM, 9,843 ft (1,640 ft shorter than KBL); 4 within 250 NM.

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Runway Inventory & National Standing

Primary Runway: 11,483 ft (3,500 m)

KBL runway: 11/29 11,483 × 164 ft asphalt (asp). National standing: #1 of 4 in Afghanistan; 951 ft ahead of KDH (10,532 ft). +14.8% vs the 10,000 ft baseline.

🛫 Physical Runway Inventory & Surface Engineering

Runway Designator	Length (ft / m)	Width (ft / m)	Surface Material	Lighting	Status
11/29	11,483 ft (3500 m / 3.500 km)	164 ft (50m)	`Asphalt (ASP)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active

🛡️ Source: OurAirports Open Aviation Database, snapshot 2026-09-01 · Provenance →