Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport — Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan

Mazar-i-Sharif International Airport, coded MZR, serves northern Afghanistan's largest city, home to the Blue Mosque, or Shrine of Hazrat Ali, a site of deep religious significance for many Muslims that draws pilgrims from across the region and gives the city its central cultural identity. The airport carries a heavily military-shaped history, having served as a hub for NATO-led international forces during the German-commanded regional command in the north through much of the Afghan conflict, with infrastructure improvements during that period leaving a longer runway and expanded facilities than the city's civilian traffic alone would have required. Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, international commercial service has been sharply curtailed compared with the years of foreign military presence, though the airport continues to handle domestic flights connecting Mazar-i-Sharif to Kabul and other Afghan cities along with limited humanitarian and cargo operations. The surrounding region has long been significant along Silk Road trade routes linking Afghanistan to Central Asia.