Salé Airport or Rabat-Salé Airport (IATA: RBA, ICAO: GMME) is an airport serving Rabat, the capital city of Morocco, and also the capital of the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer region. It is a joint use public and military airport, also known as the First Royal Air Force Base. The airport is located about 8 kilometres (5 mi) east-northeast of Rabat and about 90 km (56 mi) northeast of Casablanca.
In 2008 the airport handled over 333,000 passengers.
History
During World War II, the airport was used as a military airfield by the United States Army Air Forces Twelfth Air Force during the North African campaign. The 319th Bombardment Group flew B-26 Marauders from the airfield between 25 Apr - 1 Jun 1943.
After the Americans moved out their active units in mid-1943, the airport was used as a stopover and landing field for Air Transport Command aircraft on the Casablanca-Algiers transport route. When the war ended, control of the airfield was returned to civil authorities.
During the early years of the Cold War, the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command used the airport as its headquarters for its 5th and 316th Air Divisions. Various SAC aircraft, primarily B-47 Stratojets and KC-97 Stratotankers used the airport until the United States Air Force withdrew from Morocco in 1957.
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