Annaba Rabah Bitat Airport , formerly known as Les Salines Airport, and popularly as El Mellah Airport is an international

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

located south of

Annaba Annaba ( ar, عنّابة, "Place of the Jujubes"; ber, Aânavaen), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River ...

, a city in

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. It is named after

Rabah Bitat Rabah Bitat ( ar, رابح بيطاط; ALA-LC: ''Rābaḥ Bīṭāṭ''; 19 December 1925 in Aïn Kerma – 10 April 2000) was an Algerian Nationalist and politician. He served as interim President of Algeria from 1978 to 1979, after Houari ...

, a president of

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

(1978-1979).

History

Built at the time of

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

, the airport was named Bône-les-Salines, in reference to the

salt lakes A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salt (chemistry), salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of ...

in the vicinity of the site. It was put into operation in 1939 and a decree of December 16, 1958 entrusted the operation to the Chamber of Commerce of Bône.

World war II

During World War II the airport was known as Bone Airfield, and was used by the German

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

. Later captured by 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 ...

, the USAAF

Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to U ...

in the Western Desert Campaign in 1942–1943. In November 1942 the Allies invaded French Morocco and Algeria (

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 British airborne operations in North Africa started on 12 November, when the

3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment The 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (3 PARA), is a battalion sized formation of the British Army's Parachute Regiment and is a subordinate unit within 16 Air Assault Brigade. Roled as an Airborne light infantry unit, the battalion is capable ...

carried out the first battalion sized parachute drop, on Bone airfield. The remainder of the

1st Parachute Brigade The 1st Parachute Brigade was an airborne forces brigade formed by the British Army during the Second World War. As its name indicates, the unit was the first parachute infantry brigade formation in the British Army. Formed from three parachute ...

arrived by sea the next day. Bone Airfield was the base of

No. 111 Squadron RAF ("Standing by") , colors= , colors_label= , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= , anniversaries= , decorations= , battle_honours= Palestine 1917–1918*, Megiddo, Home Defence 1940–1942*, France and Low Countries 1940, ...

, a

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

squadron under Squadron Leader Tony Bartley. One notable pilot to fly from Bone on occasion was Wing Commander

Adrian Warburton Adrian "Warby" Warburton, (10 March 1918 – 12 April 1944) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and flying ace of the Second World War. He became legendary in the RAF for his role in the defence of Malta and was described by the then Air Officer C ...

who was an infrequent visitor after crash landing there on 15 November 1942. 81 Squadron were based at Bone from 16 November to 31 January 1942 wit
'Ras' Berry DSO DFC
and then Colin F Gray DSO DFC being Squadron Leaders. Alan M Peart DFC also claimed his first aerial combat victory as well as two further aircraft damaged over Bone harbour during this time.

Algerian war

After the war, the air base 213 one of the air bases of the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

, was established on the site at that time. It was home to the 1/91 Gascogne Bombardment Group, a unit recreated on September 1, 1956 (and temporarily dissolved on September 17, 1962, after the

Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

), which was equipped with Douglas B-26 Invaders.

Post-war period

After

Algerian independence An independence referendum was held in French Algeria on 1 July 1962. It followed French approval of the Évian Accords in an April referendum. Voters were asked whether Algeria should become an independent state, co-operating with France; 99.72 ...

, and until 2000, Annaba airport was named El-Mellaha (meaning in Arabic "Les Salines"). Since then, the airport has been named in honor of Rabah Bitat, former head of the Algerian state.

Facilities

The Old terminal had an annual capacity of 500,000 passengers. In January 2016, the new international terminal had been opened. The New Terminal, which commissioning generates 300 jobs, has an expandable capacity of 700,000 passengers per year. File:Annaba Rabah Bitat Airport.jpg, Terminal of the airport. File:Aéroport d'Annaba.jpg, Terminal of the airport

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

The evolution of air traffic at Annaba airport between 2006 and 2020 is :

References

External links

Google Maps - Annaba Rabah Bitat
* * {{authority control Airports in Algeria Buildings and structures in Annaba Province