Dakhla Airport is an airport serving
Dakhla (also known as Dajla or ad-Dakhla, formerly Villa Cisneros), a city in
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...
, a disputed territory. (See ''
Political status of Western Sahara
Western Sahara, formerly the colony of Spanish Sahara, is a disputed territory claimed by both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario Front), which is an independence m ...
'')
The airport is operated by the Moroccan state-owned company
ONDA
Onda or Ondas may refer to:
Places
* Onda, Arkansas, an unincorporated community in Washington County
* Onda, Castellón, a municipality of province of Castellón, Valencian Community, Spain
* Onda, Bankura, a village in Bankura district, West Ben ...
.
History
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the airport was used by the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces.
It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies a ...
as a stopover for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel on the North African
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
-
Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...
transport route for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel. It connected to
Dakar Airport in the South and
Agadir Airport to the north.
Airport and facilities
The Dakhla airport is used as public airport and by the
Royal Moroccan Air Force
The Royal Moroccan Air Force (; ; ) is the air force of the Moroccan Armed Forces.
History
The Moroccan air force was formed on 14 May 1956 as the Sherifian Royal Aviation ().
Its modern installations and bases were inherited from France (Bass ...
. The long runway can receive a
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington.
Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...
or smaller planes. Parking space of or one Boeing 737.
The passenger terminal covers and is capable to handle up to 55,000 passengers per year. Public facilities available include a medical post and a prayer room.
The airport offers the following radio-navigation aids:
VOR and
DME.
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Dakhla Airport:
Traffic statistics
Accidents and incidents
* In November 1949, a
Savoia-Marchetti SM-95C (I-LATI) of
LATI sustained substantial damage in a landing accident here, but was later repaired. All 17 occupants survived.
References
External links
*
*
{{Airports in Western Sahara
Airports in Morocco
Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in North Africa
World War II airfields in Spanish Sahara
Buildings and structures in Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab