Bacha Khan International Airport — Peshawar, Pakistan

Bacha Khan International Airport, coded PEW, takes its current name from Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a Pashtun leader nicknamed Bacha Khan who championed nonviolent resistance during the independence movement and remained closely allied with Mahatma Gandhi's broader campaign. The airport serves Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and one of South Asia's oldest continuously inhabited cities, positioned near the historic Khyber Pass that has funneled traders, armies, and travelers between the Indian subcontinent and Afghanistan for millennia. Domestic routes connect PEW with Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, while the airport's security posture has historically been notably heightened given the region's proximity to the Afghan border and past instability. Peshawar's old city retains a dense bazaar culture, including markets specializing in traditional crafts and jewelry, that predates the airport by many centuries and continues to draw visitors interested in the region's layered history.