Melilla Airport is an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

located in

Melilla Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, bordering Morocco and facing the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of . It was par ...

, an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The airport is located about southwest of the city, near the border with Morocco. Between 1931 and 1967 Melilla was served by the Tauima Aerodrome (now the

Nador International Airport Nador International Airport ( ber, Anafag en Ennaḍor Aɛarwi, italic=yes; ar, مطار الناظور العروي), , is an international airport serving Nador, A paid car-park area is directly outside terminal, mainly used to bring passenge ...

), even when Morocco had gained its independence in 1956. This Spanish controlled airport did not open until 1969.

History

In the 1920s, several military aerodromes were built in area for the Air Arm of the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

: * Ramel - now in Morocco * Arcila - now in Morocco *

Zeluan Selouane (Tarifit: Seřwan, ⵙⴻⵔⵡⴰⵏ; Arabic: سلوان) is a town in Nador Province, Oriental, Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It ove ...

- now in Morocco Following the conflict between Spain and Morocco, a new military airfield was built near

Cabrerizas Altas Melilla ( , ; ; rif, Mřič ; ar, مليلية ) is an autonomous cities of Spain, autonomous city of Spain located in north Africa. It lies on the eastern side of the Cape Three Forks, Morocco–Spain border, bordering Morocco and facing th ...

. This airport had a simple landing area. As tension settled and Spain was able to re-establish land around Melilla, this airport was relocated again further south of city. The new airport, Tauima Aerodrome, was opened for civilian flights 1931 and used also by the military. The El Atalayón hydroplane air station (now site of oyster farm) in the Mar Chica was operational in the 1930s to provide additional air travel options using

Dornier Do J The Dornier Do J ''Wal'' ("whale") is a twin-engine German flying boat of the 1920s designed by '' Dornier Flugzeugwerke''. The Do J was designated the Do 16 by the Reich Air Ministry (''RLM'') under its aircraft designation system of 1933. ...

seaplanes. In 1956 the end of the Spanish protectorate over northern Morocco placed the airport outside of control from Spain, although some investment from Spain was done in the aerodrome until 1958. Limited access to the airport was given to Melilla by secured bus until 1967. The Tauima aerodrome later became

. In 1969, the current airport was opened within Melilla's borders and was strictly a civilian facility. The airlines serving the airport are regional carriers connecting to Spain to the north. The airport is also a general aviation airfield and handles private small aircraft. There are no flights directed to airports in Morocco. In the past Melilla was also served by

Spantax Spantax S.A. was a Spanish leisure airline headquartered in Madrid that operated from 6 October 1959 to 29 March 1988. Spantax was one of the first Spanish airlines to operate tourist charter flights between European and North American cities and ...

from 1969 to 1981, Aviaco from 1981 to 1992 and Binter Mediterraneo from 1992 to 2001.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Melilla Airport:

Statistics

Incidents and accidents

* On 25 September 1998, PauknAir Flight 4101, a

BAe 146 The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Manufacture by Avro International ...

, crashed into a hill on approach to Melilla killing all 38 occupants.ASN Aircraft accident description British Aerospace BAe-146-100 EC-GEO - Boumahfouda
/ref> *On 17 January 2003, an

Air Nostrum Air Nostrum, legally incorporated as ''Air Nostrum Líneas Aéreas del Mediterráneo, S.A.'', is a Spanish regional airline based in Valencia. It currently operates as a franchisee of Iberia as Iberia Regional and an affiliate member of the On ...

Fokker 50, operating for

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

, overran the runway and broke apart. Nine people were injured but there were no fatalities.

References

External links