Melilla Airport

About Melilla

Melilla has been an outpost of Spain for centuries, because of its location on the peninsula of Tres Forcas on Africa's Mediterranean coast. In ancient times Melilla was occupied by Phoenicians and Carthaginians before it was integrated into the Roman Empire in the first century. When the Moors conquered Spain, Melilla became part of the Caliphate of Cordoba and later reverted to the kingdom of Fez.

Melilla declined in the Middle Ages and became a refuge for pirates, until it was conquered by the Catholic Kings at the end of the fifteenth century. It has remained Spanish ever since. Subsequent monarchs repopulated and fortified the city, and in the eighteenth century Melilla was further secured by numerous fortresses that still ring the city.

About Melilla Airport

Melilla Airport is three kilometres southwest of the autonomous city, due to its privileged location, is the gateway to Africa, the continent that is the current focus of all the attention of the business and tourist sectors. Its air, sea and land communications make it a potential operations base for those who seek the commercial benefits of the African market without abandoning EU territory, and tourists who are travelling to Morocco and wish to stay the night in a European city.

During 2005 the airport handled 271,590 passengers, 9,295 flight operations and 323,2 tonnes of cargo traffic.

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