Dakhla Airport
IATA: VIL – ICAO: GMMH
Summary
Airport type		Public / Military
Operator		Office National Des Aéroports (ONDA) / Forces Royales Air (FRA)
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 / 23.71806; -15.93194
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
03/21	3,000	9,842	Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Aircraft movements			1,574
Passengers			42,066
Cargo (tonnes)			34.43
Sources: ONDA[1], DAFIF[2][3]

Dakhla Airport (IATA: VIL, ICAO: GMMH) is an airport serving Dakhla (also known as ad-Dakhla, formerly Villa Cisneros), a city in Western Sahara.

The airport is operated as a Moroccan airport, with public facilities managed by the Moroccan state-owned company ONDA.

The status of Western Sahara is disputed, see: Legal status of Western Sahara.

Contents 1 History 2 Airport and facilities 3 Airlines and destinations 4 Traffic statistics 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

During World War II, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Force 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]

[edit] 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.

The airport offers the following radio-navigation aids: VOR and DME.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Islas Airways operated by Binter Canarias	Las Palmas de Gran Canaria [begins 2 February]
Jet4you	Paris Orly (seasonal charter)
Royal Air Maroc Express	Agadir [seasonal], Casablanca, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Royal Air Maroc	Agadir, Casablanca [seasonal], Laayoune

[edit] Traffic statistics

Item	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003
Aircraft movements[5]	1,574	1,492	839	674	606	492
Passengers[6]	42,066	36,354	21,253	21,442	11,670	12,149
Cargo (tonnes)[7]	34.43	48.63	59.77	61.06	140.96	107.81

[edit] References

1. ^ Dakhla airport information from Office National Des Aéroports (ONDA)
2. ^ Airport information for GMMH from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
3. ^ Airport information for VIL at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective Oct. 2006).
4. ^ [1]
5. ^ Statistics until 2006 from Statistics Movements, PDF document
6. ^ Statistics until 2006 from Overview passengers stats MA, PDF document
7. ^ Statistics until 2006 from freight stats, PDF document

[edit] External links

• Current weather for GMMH at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for VIL at Aviation Safety Network

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