Casablanca–Anfa Airport (, ) was an airport in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, located about southwest of

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

. 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 is an international airport serving Casablanca, Morocco. Located in Nouaceur Province, it is operated by ONDA (). With about 7.6 million passengers passing through the airport in 2022, it was the busiest airp ...

and the

Casablanca Tit Mellil Airport Casablanca Tit Mellil Airport (, ) is an airport located in Tit Mellil, Morocco, near Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast o ...

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

Royal Air Maroc Royal Air Maroc (RAM, ; ; ) is the Morocco, Moroccan national carrier, as well as the country largest airline, ranking among the largest in Africa. RAM is wholly owned by the Cabinet of Morocco, Moroccan Government, and has its headquarters o ...

still indicates that its

registered office A registered office is the official address of an incorporated company, association or any other legal entity. Generally it will form part of the public record and is required in most countries where the registered organization or legal entity ...

is on the airport property.

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 force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Anfa Airport was taken over by the

Vichy French Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against G ...

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

Vichy French Air Force The Air Force (), 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 France established in th ...

() with its limited aircraft allowed by the armistice with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. 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. It served as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and t ...

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 (8–16 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 securing victory in North Africa whil ...

, 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 primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during the

North African Campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

, 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 a ...

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 Forces S ...

, 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 Forc ...

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 () 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 was followed by the construction of a ...

and

Nouaceur Nouaceur (, locally ) is a municipality and the administrative capital of Nouaceur Province in the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coa ...

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

. ''

La Vie Éco () is a weekly francophone Moroccan newspaper The newspaper specializes in economic and financial news. La Vie Eco is part of Akwa Group which is owned by the Akhanouch family. History and profile ''La Vie Éco'' was established in 1957. The w ...

''. 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 20th-century architecture in Morocco Casablanca in World War II