Baghdad International
The baggage tags may still read SDA but the name has changed since the US-led invasion of Iraq, from Saddam International Airport to BIAP, short for Baghdad International Airport.

While the thought of flying out of BIAP would no doubt cause the heart of any person to skip a beat, a series of improvements have modernised BIAP and made it a little more convenient and just a tad safer: two helicopter gunships sit on the tarmac to ward away attacks.

Two years ago, USAID, together with SkyLink USA and Bechtel undertook a $47 million renovation of the Baghdad and Basra airports, both run down after decades of sanctions. The air traffic control tower was rebuilt and modernised at BIAP.

But beautiful BIAP is not: two years ago, the yard on the airport road to BIAP was heaped far and wide with rusting, disused garbage and baggage-handling trucks. Today, about 40 non-military flights a day take off at BIAP, up from about 20 daily two years ago – a small sign of progress, perhaps.

A new, duty-free shop sells crystal-studded keychains, expensive luggage, and military-standard, sand-coloured combat boots. SkyLink USA plies the airspace between Baghdad and Dubai, Royal Jordanian intrepidly ferries back and forth to Amman, while civilian and military cargo services are operated via FedEx or DHL.

Kabul airport
Another relic from the 1970s, Khwaja Rawash Airport, is also undergoing modernisation and expansion. Currently the terminal has only one gate for all international flights and a packed waiting room. But new services have opened up, including one to wrap your bags and a snack and souvenir stand at the boarding gate.

A new, two-storey international terminal is scheduled to be completed in July, underwritten by a €5.9m assistance grant from the Japanese government. Dai-Nippon Construction. with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, have built the terminal.

The new terminal will handle 340,000 international travellers, about two-and-a-half times the passenger traffic of six years ago.

The World Bank also financed a €5.9m refurbishment of the runway and air traffic control system – the latter vital in snowy conditions and mountainous terrain, and in a country where the US military estimates helicopters can only fly 40% of the time.

Even with upgraded security systems and improved runway, Kabul remains a destination for only the tourist or business executive with a rock-hard constitution. In March, a suicide car bomber aiming for US troops near the airport slayed six Afghan civilians in his wake.