Dakhla Airport
Dakhla Airport مطار الداخلة (Arabic) Aéroport de Dakhla (French) | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public / 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″N 015°55′55″W / 23.71806°N 15.93194°W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  VIL Location of airport in Western Sahara | |||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2008, 2016) | |||||||||||
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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. (See Political status of Western Sahara)
The airport is operated by the Moroccan state-owned company ONDA.
History
[edit]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.[4][citation needed]
Airport and facilities
[edit]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
[edit]The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Dakhla Airport:
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Binter Canarias | Gran Canaria[5] |
| Royal Air Maroc | Agadir, Casablanca, Laayoune, Paris–Orly |
| Transavia | Paris–Orly[6] |
| Ryanair | Madrid, Lanzarote |
Traffic statistics
[edit]| Item | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft movements[7] | 1,574 | 1,492 | 839 | 674 | 606 | 492 |
| Passengers[8] | 42,066 | 36,354 | 21,253 | 21,442 | 11,670 | 12,149 |
| Cargo (tonnes)[9] | 34.43 | 48.63 | 59.77 | 61.06 | 140.96 | 107.81 |
Accidents and incidents
[edit]- 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.[10]
References
[edit]
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
- ^ Dakhla airport information from Office National Des Aéroports (ONDA)
- ^ Airport information for GMMH[usurped] from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
- ^ Airport information for VIL at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
- ^ The airport was then paved over in the 1960s by Francoist Spain. File:Atcroutes-1sep1945.jpg
- ^ "Binter adds Dakhla service from April 2017".
- ^ "Transavia France NW23 North/West Africa Network Expansion – 23JUL23".
- ^ Statistics until 2006 from Statistics Movements Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, PDF document
- ^ Statistics until 2006 from Overview passengers stats MA Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, PDF document
- ^ Statistics until 2006 from freight stats Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, PDF document
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Savoia-Marchetti SM-95C I-LATI Villa Cisneros, Western Sahara (VIL)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
