The airport was originally built in the 1960s by engineers from the United States.[2] It was used by the Soviet forces during the 1980s. The airport was a base for fighters and transport aircraft (likely Antonov An-26, Antonov An-32 and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21). After capturing the city, the Taliban took control of the airport in 1995. The airport was jet bombed by the anti-Taliban alliance on 4 November 1996.[7] On 12 November 2001, an uprising broke out, and the Taliban were ousted from the area. Elements of the U.S. Army Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 554 ("Texas 08") arrived at the airport soon afterwards, and in the words of the team's report: "...directly negotiate[d] with local commanders for the placement of multinational humanitarian assistance teams to be stationed" at the airport.[8] From 2002 to 2005, the U.S.-led coalition forces ran international operations at the airport.[citation needed]
In May 2005, responsibility was shifted to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), as part of the Stage 2 transition between the U.S.-led coalition and NATO. For 45 days a 47-person Tanker Airlift Control Element, primarily deployed from the 621st Contingency Response Wing, McGuire Air Force Base, N.J. prepared the airport for the arrival of 300+ Italian troops as they assumed leadership over ISAF operations in the western regions of Afghanistan.[9] For this particular tasking, they supported two C-17 sorties every day. They also assisted the Italian aerial port in servicing coalition C-130s that landed at the airport.
ISAF use has continued since 2005, joined by the Afghan Air Force and the Afghan National Police. In recent years Italy has pledged 137 million Euros for the expansion of the airport.[6] As a result, the runway was extended and re-paved and a new international terminal, named after Captain Massimo Ranzani, a fallen Italian officer, was opened.[10] In January 2021, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani renamed the airport after Khwaja Abdullah Ansari.[5]
In August 2021, the Taliban seized control of the airport and other parts of Herat.[11]
^ abSmith, Harvey Henry (1969). Area Handbook for Afghanistan (fourth ed.). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 36. The airports at Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif and Kunduz were built with United States assistance.
