DuringWorld War II, the airport was used as a military airfield by both the Royal Air Force and theUnited States Army Air Forces. The319th Bombardment Group briefly flewB-26 Marauders from the airfield between 25 April and 1 June 1943. After the Americans moved out their combat units in mid-1943, the airport was used as a stopover and landing field forAir Transport Command aircraft on the Casablanca-Algiers transport route. When the war ended, control of the airfield was returned to civil authorities.
On 20 January 2012 the new Terminal 1 building was inaugurated, and the old terminal building (always called Terminal 2) closed. The terminal is 16,000 m2 large and has a maximum capacity of 3.5 million passengers/year,[3] more than twice the capacity of the old terminal.[4]
The public area (arrivals exit and check-in) offers car rental agencies, banks (forTax Free Shopping reimbursements only),ATM, café-bar with small kiosk, phone/fax service. The departure lounge offers a café-bar,duty-free shop, telephones, smoking lounge. Access to the airport is possible by taxi or bus or private car; parking space is available.
Rabat–Salé is one of the six airports in Morocco where ONDA offers its special VIP serviceSalon Convives de Marque.[5]
The freight-terminal covers an area of 1360 m2.
In 2018, expansion work began in the airport.[6] It is estimated that after the expansion the airport will be able to host 4 million passengers.
The single runway lies in direction 03/21, and is 3,500 meters long and 45 meters wide. The airport has anILS Class 1 certification and offers the following radionavigational aids:VOR,DME, andNDB.[4]
by taxi for 200 Dh (MAD) about 20 euro (21 US dollars)
by airport bus shuttle: express bus shuttle from the airport to the central train station Rabat City and also to the train station Rabat Agdal (the TGV station in Rabat, TGV=high speed train), priced at 25 dhs (MAD), about 2,50 euros, operated by the company Alsa-City-Bus, scheduled every 1 hour
by private shuttle: private shuttle from the airport to Rabat center, priced between 300 and 500 dhs (MAD), about 30 and 50 euros
by local bus: Line No. 10, but one has to walk outside, out of the airport, 20 minutes walk to the bus station next to supermarket ATACADAO, bus ticket price is 5 dh (MAD) about 0,50 euro
by tramway: Line No. 2, but one has to walk outside, out of the airport, 25 minutes walk to the tramway station named Hssain next to supermarket ATACADAO, tramway ticket is 6 dh (MAD) about 0,60 euro
On 12 July 1961, aCzech Airlines (CSA)Ilyushin Il-18 en route fromZurich Airport to Rabat–Salé Airport diverted to Casablanca Anfa Airport (GMMC) after receiving weather info indicating ground fog at Rabat–Salé. As the conditions at GMMC were also poor the captain of the plane asked permission to land at Casablanca–Nouasseur (CMN), then aUSAF base. While GMMC controllers contacted American authorities the plane crashed 13 km SSW of GMMC. All 72 on board (64 passengers, 8 crew) died. The exact reason for the crash was never discovered.[34]
On 12 September 1961, anAir FranceSud Aviation Caravelle was en route fromParis–Orly to Rabat–Salé Airport. The weather conditions at the time were non-favourable: thick fog and low visibility. The pilot informed traffic control it intended to land using thenon-directional beacon (NDB). Traffic control warned the pilot that the NDB was not in-line with therunway, but this message received no response. The aircraft crashed 9 km SSW of the airport. All 77 on board (71 passengers, 6 crew) died. The exact reason was never discovered but investigators reported errors in instrument reading as the most likely reason.[35]
4,02%
5,45%
Media related toRabat-Salé Airport at Wikimedia Commons
