Casablanca–Anfa Airport (french: Aéroport de Casablanca–Anfa, ar, مطار الدار البيضاء أنفا) was an airport in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, located about southwest of

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

. Anfa Airport was one of three airports serving the Casablanca area, the others being the newer and larger

Mohammed V International Airport Mohammed V International Airport, ; ber, ⴰⵣⴰⴳⵯⵣ ⴰⴳⵔⵖⵍⴰⵏ ⵎⵓⵃⵎⵎⴷ ⵡⵙ5; french: Aéroport International de Mohammed V is an international airport serving Casablanca, Morocco. Located in Nouaceur Province ...

and the

Casablanca Tit Mellil Airport Casablanca Tit Mellil Airport (french: Aéroport Casablanca Tit Mellil, ar, مطار الدار البيضاء تيط مليل) is an airport located in Tit Mellil, Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the we ...

. Anfa Airport is now closed, and its buildings and runways have been demolished.

History

Built in the 1920s by the French colonial government, Anfa Airport was the primary airport for Casablanca until the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

closed its base at Nouasseur in 1959. The Nouasseur Air Base has been expanded over the years to handle large jet aircraft and has become Casablanca's primary airport,

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Anfa Airport was taken over by the

Vichy French Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

government and used as an airport as well as an air base for the

Vichy French Air Force The Air Force (french: Armée de l'air), usually referred to as the Air Force of Vichy (''Armée de l'air de Vichy'') or Armistice Air Force (''Armée de l'Air de l'armistice'') for clarity, was the aerial branch of the Armistice Army of Vichy Fra ...

(french: Armée de l'Air de Vichy) with its limited aircraft allowed by the armistice with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. It was also used by

Deutsche Luft Hansa ''Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.'' (from 1933 styled as ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' and also known as ''Luft Hansa'', ''Lufthansa'', or DLH) was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and th ...

and German military transports and was depicted in the fictional 1942 film ''

''. Anfa Airport was one of the primary Allied objectives during

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

, the invasion of North Africa, and was seized in the initial landings in the Casablanca area. After its capture by Allied forces, it functioned as an Allied military airfield throughout the remainder of the war, supporting the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the North African Campaign, and also as an

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies and ...

cargo hub on the North African Route. It served as a transit point for

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

aircraft heading to England to equip the

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...

, as well as for the Twelfth and

Fifteenth Air Force The Fifteenth Air Force (15 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base. It was reactivated on 20 August 2020, merging the previous units of the Ninth Air Force ...

s in the Mediterranean Theater, as part of the southern air transport route from the United States via Brazil and Dakar in Senegal. It was returned to civilian control late in 1945. The airport is now closed and is undergoing a major urbanization project. Anfa Airport was replaced as a commercial airport by

; however, it continued to serve as a pilot training airfield until it ceased all operations in 2007.

Other facilities

Royal Air Maroc has/had its head office on the airport property. the airline still states that Anfa is the location of its head office. By 2008 Royal Air Maroc (RAM) Academy, the training arm of the country's national airline, had moved its activity to

Benslimane Benslimane ( Arabic: بن سليمان) is a Moroccan city and the capital of Benslimane Province, Casablanca-Settat. History The city was founded by the French in 1907 during the campaign of Morocco, the military establishment will be foll ...

and Nouaceur.M.M.
RAM Academy transfère ses activités à Nouaceur et Benslimane

. ''

La Vie Éco ''La Vie Eco'' ( ar, لا في إكو) is a weekly francophone Moroccan independent newspaper. History and profile ''La Vie Éco'' was established in 1957. The weekly is based in Casablanca and is published by Media Groupe characteres, a media c ...

''. 26 September 2008. Retrieved on 24 August 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casablanca-Anfa Airport Airports in Morocco Transport in Casablanca Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in North Africa Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Morocco World War II airfields in Morocco Buildings and structures in Casablanca-Settat Defunct airports in Morocco 1920 establishments in Morocco 2007 disestablishments in Morocco Airports established in 1920 Airports disestablished in 2007