Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Rabat-Salé Airport (GMME) is a joint civil-military aerodrome serving Morocco's capital, Rabat, from the neighbouring city of Salé. It hosts the Royal Moroccan Air Force's First Air Base alongside scheduled and charter airline traffic, and offers a long, ILS-equipped runway that makes it a straightforward destination for visiting pilots.
Rabat-Salé Airport lies in Salé, just across the Bou Regreg estuary from Rabat, the capital of Morocco. It is a joint-use public and military field, home to the Royal Moroccan Air Force's First Air Base as well as the civil terminal handling scheduled and charter services. For a simulator pilot the airport is notable both for its long, well-equipped single runway and for its layered history as a wartime and Cold War staging base for foreign air forces.
The airport sits about 8 kilometres east-northeast of central Rabat and roughly 90 kilometres northeast of Casablanca, in the city of Salé within the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region of Morocco. As a joint civil-military aerodrome it shares its single runway between airline traffic and the Royal Moroccan Air Force's First Air Base.
The field has a single physical runway, 03/21, orientated north-northeast to south-southwest. Runway 03 is 11,469 feet long and runway 21 is 11,464 feet long; both are hard-surfaced and lit, and runway 21 is served by an ILS. The runway is exceptionally long by regional standards, easily accommodating everything from light aircraft to wide-body jets.
Approach can be contacted on 118.9 MHz and Tower on 118.3 MHz. The airport holds an ILS Class 1 certification and is additionally equipped with VOR, DME and NDB radio navigation aids, giving pilots several options for instrument approaches and en-route navigation in the vicinity of Rabat and Salé.
During the Second World War the airfield served as a military base used jointly by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces. The 319th Bombardment Group briefly operated Martin B-26 Marauders from the field between 25 April and 1 June 1943, and after the American combat units departed in mid-1943 the airfield continued to serve as a stopover for Air Transport Command aircraft on the Casablanca-Algiers route. Control reverted to civil authorities after the war. During the early Cold War the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command used the airport as headquarters for its 5th and 316th Air Divisions, with B-47 Stratojets and KC-97 Stratofreighters operating from the field until the USAF withdrew from Morocco in 1957.
Rabat-Salé remains a joint-use aerodrome, combining civil airline operations with the Royal Moroccan Air Force's First Air Base. The long ILS-equipped runway and associated VOR, DME and NDB aids support a range of aircraft types and approach procedures, making the airport a capable and well-instrumented destination for both military and civil traffic.
