Mashhad International Airport — Mashhad, Iran

Mashhad International Airport (MHD), also referred to as Shahid Hashemi Nejad Airport, serves Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city and one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam as the location of the shrine of Imam Reza. Millions of pilgrims travel to Mashhad annually to visit the shrine complex, and that religious tourism drives a large share of the passenger traffic moving through MHD, supplementing the city's more conventional business and domestic travel demand. The airport connects Mashhad to Tehran and other major Iranian cities, along with regional international routes to neighboring countries and destinations with significant Shia populations. Mashhad's location in northeastern Iran, near the borders with Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, gives it a distinct role as a crossroads city with a history tied to Silk Road trade routes. The airport has seen periodic upgrades to handle the seasonal surges tied to major religious observances throughout the Islamic calendar.