Rabat–Salé Airport
Rabat–Salé Airport مطار الرباط سلا ( AMSL | 276 ft / 84 m | ||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 34°03′05″N 006°45′05″W / 34.05139°N 6.75139°W | ||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||
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  RBA Location of airport in Morocco | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||
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Salé Airport or Rabat–Salé Airport (IATA: RBA, ICAO: GMME) is an international airport located in the city of Salé, also serving Rabat,[1] the capital city of Morocco and of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region. It is a joint use public and military airport, also hosting the First Air Base of the Royal Moroccan Air Force.[1] The airport is located about 8 kilometres (5 mi) east-northeast of Rabat and about 90 km (56 mi) northeast of Casablanca.
History
During
During the early years of the
Facilities
Terminals
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 (for Tax 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 service Salon 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.
Apron
An area of 84.000 m2 is available for passenger aircraft offering four
Runway
The single runway lies in direction 03/21, and is 3,500 meters long and 45 meters wide. The airport has an
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Rabat–Salé Airport:
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Basel/Mulhouse (begins 4 May 2024) , Brussels (begins 3 May 2024) , Istanbul (begins 2 May 2024) , Paris–Charles de Gaulle (begins 1 May 2024)
| |
| Air France | Paris–Charles de Gaulle |
| easyJet | Geneva, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Paris–Charles de Gaulle |
| Transavia | Paris–Orly , Montpellier (begins 3 July 2024) |
| TUI fly Belgium | Brussels,[7] Paris–Orly |
Ground transportation
To get from the airport to city center Rabat:
- 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
Statistics
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 357,773 | 372,145 4,02% |
351,867 5,45% |
485,71338,04% |
684,21340,87% |
705,9503,18% |
873,16923,69% |
923,5765,77%
|
987,4856,79% |
1,100,84622,13% |
299,33372,81% |
468,87556,60% |
873,30586,26% |
1,201,67638,01%
|
Incidents and accidents
- On 12 July 1961, a USAF 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.[8]
- On 12 September 1961, an Paris–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 the non-directional beacon (NDB). Traffic control warned the pilot that the NDB was not in-line with the runway, 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.[9]
References
- ^ a b c Airport information for GMME[usurped] from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
- ^ Airport information for RBA at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
- ^ Rabat–Sale Airport visited 22 January 2012
- ^ ONDA website about Rabat–Sale Airportvisited 21 May 2008
- ^ ONDA website on the VIP service, visited 17 March 2012
- ^ "Aéroport international de Rabat-Salé : Vers une capacité d'accueil de 4 millions de passagers".
- ^ "TUIFLY BELGIUM NS23 MOROCCO NETWORK ADDITIONS".
- ^ Accident facts taken from Aviation-safety.net website, visited on 21 May 2008
- ^ Accident facts taken from Aviation-safety.net website, visited on 21 May 2008
External links
Media related to Rabat-Salé Airport at Wikimedia Commons
- Current weather for GMME at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for RBA at Aviation Safety Network
- Aéro-Club Royal de Rabat (in French)
