Search flights to Kabul Intl. Airport

Planned and founded with the Soviet and Afghan collaboration in the capital city of Kabul, Khwaja Rawash Airport was used as a military base by the army of the Soviet Union for years. Because of the embargo and restrictions imposed on Afghanistan by the United Nations, all the flights of the airport were stopped at the beginning of 2000s and got bombed and made unusable by the NATO following the 9/11 attacks. The airport, which was constructed completely from the beginning in 2009, was presented to the passengers with its modern look. Today, a part of the airport, where both military and civil flights are executed, serves as the military base of the NATO.

Kabul, Afghanistan's capital and largest city, is a city developed economically and culturally thanks to the Hayber Pass which connects Pakistan and Afghanistan. Babylon Gardens, Kabul Zoo, Bala Hisar, Ghazi Stadium, Kabul Museum, Darul Aman Palace, Afghan National Gallery are among the places you can see in Kabul, which hosts many civilizations.

You need to get a visa before traveling to Kabul. Private, service and regular passport holders are subjected to a visa. Diplomatic passport holders can be considered immune from visa for 90 days. In case you plan to travel to Kabul, Kabul International Airport (Hamid Karzai International Airport) will welcome you.

It is possible to travel to Kabul through direct and indirect flights with many airlines, especially Turkish Airlines (THY), from Turkey. You can reach Kabul from Istanbul in about 5 hours by plane.

One flight from Istanbul Ataturk Airport to Kabul is carried out every day. It is also possible to have an indirect flight between Istanbul and Kabul.

Emirates and Flydubai fly from Istanbul to Kabul in connection with Dubai. Kabul International Airport is not too far from the city center. You can take a bus, taxi, private car or walk to the airport terminal. But let's also point out that reaching the terminal by foot may be dangerous.

The currency you will use for transportation will be the Afghan Afghani (AFN). Do not forget that 1 Turkish Lira is approximately 23 Afghanis.

Bus

Buses are the most commonly used means of transportation in Kabul. The one-way fare for these buses that provide transportation from the airport to the city is 15-20 Afghanis. If you want to travel by bus from the airport to the city, you should definitely have a booklet with language help; because the routes and numbers are written in the local language may not be very clear for the foreign tourists. For this reason, using a helpful booklet can make your job easier.

Taxi

If you want to reach Kabul International Airport from Kabul city center in a comfortable way, you can use taxi. You can reach the city center in a very short time by taking a taxi among the ones waiting outside the airport terminal. You can reach the city center by taxi paying between 25-30 Turkish Liras.

Car Rental

You can also get to the city center of Kabul from the airport by renting a private car. Car rental companies at Kabul International Airport would like to see your driver's license before delivering the car to you.  

If you travel by plane from Kabul, you need to reach Kabul International Airport (Hamid Karzai International Airport). From Kabul International Airport, you can travel to many destinations with many airlines. Turkish Airlines also organizes seven flights a week from Istanbul to Kabul. The journey from Kabul to Istanbul lasts 5 hours.

There is a time difference of 2 hours and 30 minutes between Kabul and Turkey. For example, when it is 10.30 am in Kabul, the clock may still show 08.00 am in Turkey. But Afghanistan does not apply day light saving time. Therefore, time difference with Kabul is 2 hours 30 minutes in winter and 1 hour 30 minutes in summer. When you travel from Kabul to Istanbul, it is useful to consider these differences.

There is still no advanced urban transportation network in Kabul. Due to the fact that the city is located in a mountainous area, the rail system does not exist in this area. Buses and taxis are the most commonly used means of transportation within the city. You can also choose to walk to the airport instead of driving. Obtaining a map of Kabul would help you not to encounter problem with urban transportation.

Bus

The bus is one of the most used vehicles in urban transportation in Kabul. Buses in the city are comfortable and modern. But the direction information and the numbers of the buses are in Pashtun. You can find out which buses go to Kabul International Airport if you would have a Pashtun dictionary with you a guide on this subject on your own.

Taxi

Visitors often prefer to take taxis for transportation in Kabul. Many of the taxi drivers know a little English. But just in case, you would write that you want to go to Kabul International Airport in local language on a paper and give it to the taxi driver.

Car Rental

You can rent a car to go to Kabul International Airport and get rid of the stress of catching the plane. With the car you will rent, you will not need to carry your heavy luggage between long distances on public transport vehicles.

Airport Information

Kabul International Airport, which connects Afghanistan's capital city Kabul to many points of the world, offers a more comfortable and enjoyable flight experience to its passengers with the renovation works. Improvements at the airport have resulted in the addition of a new international terminal and the old terminal is now being used for domestic flights.

Airline companies such as Turkish Airlines (THY), Emirates, Flydubai, Air India, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Ariana Afghan, Safi Airways, Kam Air, Mahan Air, SpiceJet, East Horizon Airlines and Iranian Aseman Airlines provides flights to Kabul. The airport of the city has free Wi-Fi, a duty free, currency exchange and ATM.

At the same time, you can eat at the restaurants in the terminal, and make benefit of the post office and car parking. It is not advised to have an alcoholic drink with you on your way to Kabul. It is a crime to have an alcoholic drink with you when you land here.