Dakhla Airport

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Dakhla Airport

مطار الداخلة (Arabic)

Aéroport de Dakhla (French)
Airport Terminal, Dakhla.jpg
Summary
Airport typePublic / Military
Operator Office National Des Aéroports (ONDA) /
Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF)
Serves Dakhla
Location Western Sahara
Elevation  AMSL 36 ft / 11 m
Coordinates 23°43′05″N015°55′55″W / 23.71806°N 15.93194°W / 23.71806; -15.93194
Map
Western Sahara adm location map.svg
Airplane silhouette.svg
VIL
Location of airport in Western Sahara
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
mft
03/213,0009,842Asphalt
Statistics (2008, 2016)
Aircraft movements1,574
Passengers (2016)154,451 Increase2.svg
Cargo (tonnes)34.43
Sources: ONDA, [1] DAFIF [2] [3]

Dakhla Airport( IATA : VIL, ICAO : GMMH/GSVO) is an airport serving Dakhla (also known as Dajla or ad-Dakhla, formerly Villa Cisneros), a city in Western Sahara, a disputed territory occupied by Morocco. [4] [5] [6] (See Political status of Western Sahara )

Contents

The airport is operated by the Moroccan state-owned company ONDA.

History

During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command as a stopover for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel on the North African Cairo-Dakar transport route for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel. It connected to Dakar Airport in the South and Agadir Airport to the north. [7] [ citation needed ]. Spanish flag carrier Iberia had regular scheduled flights to the airport, for example in Winter 1970-1971, there were daily flights from Las Palmas. [8]

Airport and facilities

The Dakhla airport is used as public airport and by the Royal Moroccan Air Force. The 3 km (1.9 mi) long runway can receive a Boeing 737 or smaller planes. Parking space of 18,900 square metres (203,000 sq ft) or one Boeing 737.

The passenger terminal covers 670 square metres (7,200 sq ft) and is capable to handle up to 55,000 passengers per year. Public facilities available include a medical post and a prayer room.[ citation needed ]

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:

AirlinesDestinations
Binter Canarias Gran Canaria [9] [10]
Royal Air Maroc Agadir, Casablanca, [11] Laayoune, Marrakesh (resumes 13 October 2025), [12] Paris–Orly, Rabat [13]
Ryanair Lanzarote, [14] Madrid [15]
Transavia Paris–Orly [16]

Traffic statistics

Item200820072006200520042003
Aircraft movements [17] 1,5741,492839674606492
Passengers [18] 42,06636,35421,25321,44211,67012,149
Cargo (tonnes) [19] 34.4348.6359.7761.06140.96107.81

Accidents and incidents

References

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ↑ Dakhla airport information from Office National Des Aéroports (ONDA)
  2. ↑ Airport information for GMMH [ usurped ] from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
  3. ↑ Airport information for VIL at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF  (effective October 2006).
  4. ↑ "A/RES/35/19 - E - A/RES/35/19". Question of Western Sahara. p. 214. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  5. ↑ Simon, Sven (2014). "Western Sahara". Self-Determination and Secession in International Law. OUP Oxford. p. 262. ISBN   978-0-19-100691-3 . Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  6. ↑ Kalicka-Mikołajczyk, Adriana (2020). "The international legal status of Western Sahara" (PDF). p. 41. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  7. ↑ The airport was then paved over in the 1960s by Francoist Spain. File:Atcroutes-1sep1945.jpg
  8. ↑ "Timetable Images Iberia Winter 1970/71, page 41" . Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  9. ↑ "Gran Canaria". OAG Flight Guide Worldwide. 25 (5). Luton, United Kingdom: OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited: 398–400. November 2023. ISSN   1466-8718.
  10. ↑ "Binter adds Dakhla service from April 2017".
  11. ↑ Liu, Jim (25 November 2024). "GOL / Royal Air Maroc Begins Codeshare Partnership From Dec 2024". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  12. ↑ "Royal Air Maroc Resumes 2 Marrakech Domestic Routes in 4Q25". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  13. ↑ Liu, Jim (23 January 2025). "Royal Air Maroc Adds Rabat – Dakhla in 1Q25". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
  14. ↑ Es, Eleconomista (14 November 2024). "Ryanair conectará España y el Sáhara Occidental con dos nuevas rutas".
  15. ↑ Es, Eleconomista (14 November 2024). "Ryanair conectará España y el Sáhara Occidental con dos nuevas rutas".
  16. ↑ "Transavia France NW23 North/West Africa Network Expansion – 23JUL23".
  17. ↑ Statistics until 2006 from Statistics Movements Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine , PDF document
  18. ↑ Statistics until 2006 from Overview passengers stats MA Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine , PDF document
  19. ↑ Statistics until 2006 from freight stats Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine , PDF document
  20. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident Savoia-Marchetti SM-95C I-LATI Villa Cisneros, Western Sahara (VIL)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
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