Misplaced Pages

#761238

14-464: Mohammed V International Airport is in Nouaceur. In 2004 Royal Air Maroc announced that it was moving its head office from Casablanca to a location in Nouaceur, close to Mohammed V International Airport. The agreement to build the head office in Nouaceur was signed in 2009. Air Arabia Maroc has its head office in the arrivals terminal of the airport. The province is divided administratively into

28-864: A stopover en route to Port Lyautey Airfield , and to Marrakech Airport on the North African Cairo - Dakar route. In addition, it was the terminus of Mid-Atlantic route transatlantic flights via the Azores to Nova Scotia and airfields on the East Coast of the United States . In addition to its transportation role, the airfield supported the North African Campaign with the Twelfth Air Force 68th Reconnaissance Group operating photo-reconnaissance versions of

42-533: Is a Royal Moroccan Air Force base in the Marraksh-Safi region, located about 58 kilometres (36 mi) north of Marrakech , near the town of Ben Guerir . It previously served as a United States Air Force base and Transatlantic Abort Landing (TAL) site for the Space Shuttle . Ben Guerir was established in 1951 by the U.S. Strategic Air Command (SAC), as one of five bases constructed in what

56-497: Is named after King Mohammed V of Morocco , who led the country's successful push for independence from French and Spanish colonial rule . The Casablanca Mohammed V Airport was originally built by the United States in early 1943 following Operation Torch in World War II . It was named Berrechid Airfield and it served as an auxiliary airfield for Casablanca's Anfa Airport . The airfield handled diverse military traffic as

70-520: Is operated by ONDA ( National Airports Office ). With about 7.6 million passengers passing through the airport in 2022, it was the busiest airport in Morocco and in the top 10 of busiest airports in Africa . Passenger traffic in 2022 had recovered to 74% of the total pre-pandemic numbers of 2019. The airport serves as hub for Royal Air Maroc , Royal Air Maroc Express and Air Arabia Maroc . It

84-743: The P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang . Part of the 68th first arrived at Angads Airport in Oujda in November 1942 and moved to Berrechid in March 1943 upon its completion. It flew both antisubmarine missions over the Atlantic and photo-reconnaissance combat missions over German-held territory until early September when it moved east to Massicault Airfield in Tunisia. With the end of the war in 1945,

98-426: The "Falcon", "Spark", and "Viper" squadrons. Ben Guerir has one runway oriented in a North-South direction. It is 61 metres (200 ft) wide, with 7.6 m (25 ft) shoulders, and is 4,182 m (13,720 ft) long, with a 305 m (1,000 ft) underrun and a 762 m (2,500 ft) compacted dirt overrun, for a total length of 4,791 m (15,720 ft). During renovations made by NASA in 1988,

112-621: The airfield was handed over to the civil government. During the Cold War in the early and middle 1950s, the airfield was reopened as Nouasseur Air Base and was used as a United States Air Force Strategic Air Command staging area for B-47 Stratojet bombers pointed at the Soviet Union . These operations later moved to Ben Guerir Air Base . With the destabilisation of French government in Morocco, and Moroccan independence in 1956,

126-523: The base until 1963. The base operating unit was the 3926th Air Base, later "Combat Support" Group, assigned to the 5th Air Division and later to the 4310th Air Division . The base was designated as a Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) site for the Space Shuttle in July 1988, replacing the former TAL site at Casablanca . The site was chosen largely for its location near the nominal ground track of

140-504: The following: 33°21′40″N 7°36′41″W  /  33.36111°N 7.61139°W  / 33.36111; -7.61139 This Casablanca-Settat location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mohammed V International Airport Mohammed V International Airport IATA : CMN , ICAO : GMMN is an international airport serving Casablanca , Morocco . Located in Nouaceur Province , it

154-698: The government of Mohammed V wanted the US Air Force to pull its bases out of Morocco, insisting on such action after American intervention in Lebanon in 1958. The United States agreed to leave in December 1959, and was fully out of Morocco by 1963. The U.S. felt that, with the long range of the B-52 and completion of Spanish bases in 1959, the Moroccan bases were no longer important. In 2022, Mohammed V Airport

SECTION 10

#1732775362762

168-571: The shuttle orbiter for a mid-range inclination launch, meaning a diversion to the TAL site would require minimal use of fuel. Ben Guerir last served as a TAL site in June 2002, for STS-111 , which landed at Edwards Air Force Base at the conclusion of its flight. The base was deactivated in 2005, after supporting 83 shuttle missions. The base is home to an Escadre de Chasse (Fighter Wing), with three squadrons of General Dynamics F-16C/D Fighting Falcons :

182-543: Was ranked the 4th busiest airport in Africa. The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport: The Al Bidaoui train service, operated by ONCF from 04:00 to 23:00, is available every hour and connects the airport to Casablanca's two main railway stations, Casa-Port Railway Terminal and Casa-Voyageurs Railway Station . [REDACTED] Media related to Mohammed V International Airport at Wikimedia Commons Ben Guerir Air Base Ben Guerir Air Base

196-511: Was then French North Africa for SAC during a "crash program" which began in 1950. The base was located to allow for the rapid deployment of nuclear-armed Boeing B-47 Stratojets , without requiring aerial refueling , Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighters were also deployed from the base. In 1956, the entire RB-47E force operated by the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing 's 322nd, 323rd and 324th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadrons spent 90 days at Ben Guerir on temporary duty assignment . SAC occupied

#761238