Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Melilla Airport is a small AENA-operated civil aerodrome serving the Spanish exclave of Melilla on the North African coast, a short distance from the Moroccan border. It handles limited scheduled turboprop services with Iberia Regional/Air Nostrum and offers an interesting single-runway approach for visiting VFR pilots, with a control tower providing an air traffic service.
Melilla Airport is the only airport on Spanish soil on the African continent, serving the autonomous city of Melilla, a Spanish exclave on the North African coast. It is operated by AENA and today handles a single scheduled operator, Iberia Regional/Air Nostrum, flying ATR 72s to a handful of mainland Spanish and island destinations. For a simulator pilot the field is notable for its short single runway, its position hard against the Moroccan frontier, and a long and slightly convoluted history as Melilla's air link to the rest of Spain.
The airport lies about 4 km (2.5 miles) southwest of Melilla city, close to the border with Morocco. It is a controlled aerodrome, with a tower service provided on the published frequency. No further detail on the surrounding airspace classification or neighbouring controlled zones is given in the sources.
Melilla has a single paved, lit runway aligned 15/33. The 33 threshold offers a landing distance of 4,884 ft, while the 15 threshold is listed at 3,924 ft; the surface is hard-paved throughout. There is no ILS approach available at the field.
Melilla Tower operates on 118.5 MHz and Melilla Ground on 121.7 MHz. A VOR radio aid was installed after 1998 to give aircraft a published means of navigating to the field in the absence of an instrument approach, though no further detail on its identifier or procedures is given in the sources.
No specific circuit heights, joining procedures or noise abatement restrictions are given in the sources beyond the fact that the aerodrome is served by a control tower, inaugurated in 2002, which coordinates arrivals and departures.
No published visual reporting points are given in the sources. The airport's position close to the Moroccan border and about 4 km southwest of Melilla city serves as the principal visual landmark for orientation when approaching the field.
Melilla's air links trace back to military aerodromes built in the 1920s at Ramel, Arcila and Zeluan, all now in Moroccan territory, following tension between Spain and Morocco. A new military airfield was later built near Cabrerizas Altas with a simple 300 m landing strip before operations moved further south to the Tauima Aerodrome, which opened to civilian traffic in 1931 and was also used by the military; a seaplane station at El Atalayón on the Mar Chica supplemented it in the 1930s using Dornier Do J flying boats. Moroccan independence in 1956 placed Tauima outside Spanish control, and after 1958 access from Melilla was only possible by secured bus, a situation that lasted until 1967; Tauima later became Nador International Airport. The present airport within Melilla's own borders opened in 1969 as a purely civilian facility, with Spantax initially operating De Havilland Canada Twin Otter and later Dash 7 services. Aviaco took over in 1980 with Fokker F27s, followed by Binter Mediterráneo in 1992 flying CN-235s to Málaga, Almería, Valencia and, latterly, Madrid. PauknAir broke Iberia's monopoly in 1995 with BAe 146 services to seven Spanish airports, including the first links to Santiago de Compostela and Santander, but ceased operations in 1998 after a fatal accident involving one of its aircraft; a VOR was subsequently installed to give pilots a published means of approach. Air Nostrum acquired Binter Mediterráneo's routes in 2001, initially flying Fokker 50s and Dash 8s before standardising on the ATR 72 from 2003. The control tower was inaugurated in 2002 alongside wider infrastructure improvements, and in February 2005 the runway was lengthened from 1,344 m to 1,428 m. A Barcelona-Melilla route studied by Vueling in 2004 was abandoned owing to the runway's dimensions and the airport's category, with the route instead moving to Nador. Since 2004 the Airmel-Club Aéreo de Melilla has offered private pilot training at the field, alongside occasional visits by small aircraft, rallies and aerial displays.
Melilla Airport remains a modest AENA-operated field, open for air operations between 07:15 and 22:15 throughout the year. Iberia Regional/Air Nostrum is currently the only airline operating scheduled passenger services, using ATR 72-600 aircraft to link Melilla with Almería, Asturias, Barcelona, Granada, Gran Canaria, Madrid, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Santiago de Compostela, Seville and Tenerife North. General aviation activity is supported by the Airmel-Club Aéreo de Melilla, which has provided private pilot instruction at the field since 2004 and the airport also sees occasional light-aircraft visits and rallies.
