Dakhla Airport is an airport serving Dakhla

Dakhla, Western Sahara

-External links:**...

 (also known as ad-Dakhla, formerly Villa Cisneros), a city in Western Sahara

Western Sahara

Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...

.

The airport is operated as a Moroccan airport, with public facilities managed by the Moroccan

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

 state-owned company ONDA

ONDA (Morocco)

ONDA is the Moroccan airport operator and administrator. The company headquarters are based in Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca.-History:...

.

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

History

During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Force Air Transport Command

Air Transport Command

Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...

 as a stopover for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel on the North African Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

-Dakar

Dakar

Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...

 transport route for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel. It connected to Dakar Airport in the South and Agadir Airport to the north.

Airport and facilities

The Dakhla airport is used as public airport and by the Royal Moroccan Air Force

Royal Moroccan Air Force

The Royal Moroccan Air Force is the air force branch of the Moroccan Armed Forces.-History:...

. The 3 km (1.9 mi) long runway can receive a Boeing 737

Boeing 737

The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...

 or smaller planes. Parking space of 18900 square metres (22,604.2 sq yd) or one Boeing 737.

The passenger terminal covers 670 square metres (801.3 sq yd) 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

VHF omnidirectional range

VOR, short for VHF omnidirectional radio range, is a type of radio navigation system for aircraft. A VOR ground station broadcasts a VHF radio composite signal including the station's identifier, voice , and navigation signal. The identifier is typically a two- or three-letter string in Morse code...

 and DME

Distance Measuring Equipment

Distance measuring equipment is a transponder-based radio navigation technology that measures distance by timing the propagation delay of VHF or UHF radio signals....

.

Airlines and destinations

Traffic statistics

Item	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003
Aircraft movements
Passengers
Cargo (tonne Tonne The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI... s)