KABUL, Afghanistan — Its pilots land in cities terrorized by the Taliban, the tarmacs within easy reach of rocket fire.

Its decrepit aircraft have crashed, been blacklisted by the American military for smuggling opium and refused entry to Europe for safety deficiencies. One plane was chased down the runway by thugs of a strongman late for the flight, furious it had left without him.

Yet the airline, Kam Air — an Afghan phenomenon through and through — is largely the only way to fly in Afghanistan. It operates 90 percent of domestic flights, stitching together a nation too big and dangerous to cross by road.

As other airlines went bankrupt, Kam Air became one of the biggest taxpayers in a country where few bother to pay taxes, making it indispensable to the government, aid groups, businesses and the nation at large.