Mohammed V International Airport is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

serving

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. Located in Nouaceur Province, it is operated by

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 ...

(). With about 7.6 million passengers passing through the airport in 2022, it was the busiest airport in

and in the top 10 of busiest airports in Africa. Passenger traffic in 2022 had recovered to 74% of the total pre-pandemic numbers of 2019. The airport serves as hub for

Royal Air Maroc Royal Air Maroc (RAM, ; ; ) is the Morocco, Moroccan national carrier, as well as the country largest airline, ranking among the largest in Africa. RAM is wholly owned by the Cabinet of Morocco, Moroccan Government, and has its headquarters o ...

, Royal Air Maroc Express and Air Arabia Maroc. It is named after King

Mohammed V of Morocco Mohammed al-Khamis bin Yusef bin Hassan al-Alawi, better known simply as Mohammed V (10 August 1909 – 26 February 1961), was the last Sultan of Morocco from 1927 to 1953 and from 1955 to 1957, and first King of Morocco from 1957 to 1961. A ...

, who led the country's successful push for independence from French and Spanish colonial rule.

History

Mohammed V International Airport - Terminal 1

1940s

The Casablanca Mohammed V Airport was originally built by the United States in early 1943 following

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

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 ...

. It was named Berrechid Airfield and it served as an auxiliary airfield for Casablanca's Anfa Airport. The airfield handled diverse military traffic as a stopover en route to Port Lyautey Airfield, and to Marrakech Airport 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 ...

route. In addition, it was the terminus of Mid-Atlantic route transatlantic flights via the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

and airfields on the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

. In addition to its transportation role, the airfield supported the

North African Campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

with the

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

68th Reconnaissance Group operating photo-reconnaissance versions of the

P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...

and

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed ...

. Part of the 68th first arrived at Angads Airport in

Oujda Oujda (, ) is a major city in northeast Morocco near the Algeria–Morocco border, border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental (Morocco), Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of 506,224 people (2024 censu ...

in November 1942 and moved to Berrechid in March 1943 upon its completion. It flew both antisubmarine missions over the Atlantic and photo-reconnaissance combat missions over German-held territory until early September when it moved east to Massicault Airfield in Tunisia. With the end of the war in 1945, the airfield was handed over to the civil government.

1950s

During the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

in the early and middle 1950s, the airfield was reopened as Nouasseur Air Base and was used as a

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile compon ...

staging area for

B-47 Stratojet The Boeing B-47 Stratojet (Boeing company designation Model 450) is a retired American long- range, six-engined, turbojet-powered strategic bomber designed to fly at high subsonic speed and at high altitude to avoid enemy interceptor aircraft ...

bombers pointed at the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. These operations later moved to Ben Guerir Air Base. With the destabilisation of French government in Morocco, and Moroccan independence in 1956, the government of Mohammed V wanted the US Air Force to pull its bases out of Morocco, insisting on such action after American intervention in Lebanon in 1958. The United States agreed to leave in December 1959, and was fully out of Morocco by 1963. The U.S. felt that, with the long range of the B-52 and completion of Spanish bases in 1959, the Moroccan bases were no longer important.

2020s

In 2022, Mohammed V Airport was ranked the 4th busiest airport in Africa.

New terminal project (2025–2029)

In May 2025 Morocco’s airports authority ONDA launched an international tender to build a new H-shaped terminal at Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca at an estimated cost of US $1.6 billion. The terminal, designed in a “hub-style”, will increase capacity from roughly 15 million to 35 million passengers per year. It will form part of Morocco’s Airports 2030 strategy and is expected to be completed by 2029 in time for the 2030 FIFA World Cup which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal. The expansion project features: * A new 3,700 m parallel runway, extended taxiways and a new 42 m air traffic control tower. * An integrated high-speed rail (LGV) station linking the airport with Casablanca, Rabat and Marrakech via the Al Boraq line. Earthworks began in mid-2025 with main construction slated to follow and full operation targeted for 2029.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport:

Cargo

Traffic

Ground transport

Rail

The Al Bidaoui train service, operated by ONCF from 04:00 to 23:00, is available every hour and connects the airport to Casablanca's two main railway stations, Casa-Port Railway Terminal and Casa-Voyageurs Railway Station.

Car

* From Casablanca main access is by A3 Motorway; * From Rabat by A1 Motorway through Tit Mellil and Road N9; * From Beni Mellal by A4 Motorway; * From Marrakech by A3 Motorway exit km 225; * From El Jadida by A1 Motorway and A3 Motorway.

Incidents and accidents

* On 1 April 1970, a

Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle crashed on approach to Casablanca Mohammed V airport when it lost control at a height of about 500 feet. The fuselage broke in two. Sixty-one of the eighty-two passengers and crew were killed.

References

Notes

External links

Mohammed V International Airport

Moroccan Airports Authority
* * * {{authority control Airports in Morocco Transport in Casablanca World War II airfields in Morocco Buildings and structures in Casablanca-Settat 1959 establishments in Morocco Airports established in 1943 Airports established in 1959 1943 establishments in Morocco 20th-century architecture in Morocco