Sultan Ghiyassuddin Ghori Airport


The Sultan Ghiyassuddin Ghori Airport, also known as Chaghcharan Airport, is located in the eastern section of Chaghcharan, the capital of Ghor Province in Afghanistan. Named after the Ghurid sultan Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad, who expanded Ghurid power across the region in the late 12th century, it is a domestic airport under the country's Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation.
Sitting at an elevation of above sea level, the airport has one asphalt runway measuring . The Hari River runs south and east of the airport. The International Security Assistance Force and later the NATO Resolute Support Mission used the facility during the international security mission until late 2014.

History

Work to rehabilitate Afghanistan’s regional airfields, including Chaghcharan, was supported in the mid-2000s and early 2010s by the Asian Development Bank under the Regional Airports Rehabilitation Project and the national transport sector plan. The runway was paved and basic airside/landside facilities were built; the airport’s opening ceremony took place on 11 September 2011, attended by officials from the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Ghor. A Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence overview of the Ghor mission likewise notes the commissioning of a “new modern Chaghcharan airport runway” in 2011 with support from ADB, the Afghan Government and USAID.

Facilities and infrastructure

The airport has a single asphalt runway measuring . ISAF imagery from the 2011 opening shows a small terminal building, a control tower and a fire station adjacent to the apron. Operational publications used by business aviation list the field as joint civil/military, with VFR procedures only, no runway lighting and no jet fuel available; the airport is not an airport of entry.

Operations

Regular scheduled commercial service to Chaghcharan has historically been limited and intermittent. In early 2022 Afghanistan’s civil aviation authorities announced the resumption of activity at civilian and military airports nationwide following the change of government, while humanitarian access to Ghor has commonly relied on the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service. UN system reporting for 2022 noted that UNHAS was reaching Chaghcharan as part of rotations serving remote provincial capitals. In 2024, Afghan authorities stated that 27 airfields, including five international airports, were operational in the country, though scheduled services remained sparse at many regional fields.

Geography and access

The airfield lies at the eastern edge of Chaghcharan/Feroz Koh, close to the Hari River valley and roughly 1–2 km from the town center, as indicated by the published coordinates and aeronautical charts.

Accidents and incidents