Mohammed V International Airport (IATA: CMN, ICAO: GMMN)

Mohammed V International Airport (مطار محمد الخامس الدولي)
Maṭar Muhammad al-Khamis ad-Dowaly

Mohammed V International Airport IATA: CMN, ICAO: GMMN is an international airport serving Casablanca, Morocco. Located in Nouaceur Province, it is operated by ONDA (National Airports Office).

With about 7.6 million passengers passing through the airport in 2022, it was the busiest airport in Morocco and in the top 10 of busiest airports in Africa. Passenger traffic in 2022 had recovered to 74% of the total pre-pandemic numbers of 2019. The airport serves as hub for Royal Air Maroc, Royal Air Maroc Express and Air Arabia Maroc. It is named after King Mohammed V of Morocco, who led the country's successful push for independence from French and Spanish colonial rule.

Mohammed V International Airport History

Mohammed V International Airport 1940s

The Casablanca Mohammed V Airport was originally built by the United States in early 1943 following Operation Torch in World War II. It was named Berrechid Airfield and it served as an auxiliary airfield for Casablanca's Anfa Airport. The airfield handled diverse military traffic as a stopover en route to Port Lyautey Airfield, and to Marrakech Airport on the North African Cairo-Dakar route. In addition, it was the terminus of Mid-Atlantic route transatlantic flights via the Azores to Nova Scotia and airfields on the East Coast of the United States.

In addition to its transportation role, the airfield supported the North African Campaign with the Twelfth Air Force 68th Reconnaissance Group operating photo-reconnaissance versions of the P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang. Part of the 68th first arrived at Angads Airport in Oujda in November 1942 and moved to Berrechid in March 1943 upon its completion. It flew both antisubmarine missions over the Atlantic and photo-reconnaissance combat missions over German-held territory until early September when it moved east to Massicault Airfield in Tunisia. With the end of the war in 1945, the airfield was handed over to the civil government.

Mohammed V International Airport 1950s

During the Cold War in the early and middle 1950s, the airfield was reopened as Nouasseur Air Base and was used as a United States Air Force Strategic Air Command staging area for B-47 Stratojet bombers pointed at the Soviet Union. These operations later moved to Ben Guerir Air Base.

With the destabilisation of French government in Morocco, and Moroccan independence in 1956, the government of Mohammed V wanted the US Air Force to pull its bases out of Morocco, insisting on such action after American intervention in Lebanon in 1958. The United States agreed to leave in December 1959, and was fully out of Morocco by 1963. The U.S. felt that, with the long range of the B-52 and completion of Spanish bases in 1959, the Moroccan bases were no longer important.

Mohammed V International Airport 2020s

In 2022, Mohammed V Airport was ranked the 4th busiest airport in Africa.

Mohammed V International Airport Airlines and Destinations

Mohammed V International Airport Passenger Flights

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport:

Airlines Destinations

• Air Arabia: Maroc Barcelona, Basel/Mulhouse, Bergamo, Bologna, Bordeaux, Brussels, Catania, Cuneo, Guelmim, Istanbul, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, Lyon, Málaga, Montpellier, Naples, Pisa, Toulouse, Tunis, Venice
• Seasonal: Seville
• Air Cairo Seasonal: Alexandria, Sharm El Sheikh
• Air Canada: Montréal–Trudeau
• Air Côte: d'Ivoire Abidjan
• Air France: Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Paris–Orly
• Air Senegal: Dakar–Diass
• Alexandria Airlines: Seasonal charter: Sharm El Sheikh
• Binter: Canarias Gran Canaria
• Egyptair: Cairo
• El Al: Tel Aviv
• Emirates: Dubai–International
• Etihad Airways: Abu Dhabi
• Eurowings Seasonal: Düsseldorf
• flynas: Jeddah
• Gulf Air: Bahrain
• Iberia: Madrid
• Kuwait Airways: Kuwait City
• Lufthansa: Frankfurt
• Mauritania Airlines: Nouadhibou, Nouakchott
• Pegasus Airlines: Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
• Qatar Airways: Doha
• Royal Air Maroc: Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Agadir, Amsterdam, Bamako, Bangui, Banjul, Barcelona, Beijing–Daxing (resumes 20 January 2025), Bissau, Bologna, Bordeaux, Brazzaville, Brussels, Cairo, Conakry, Cotonou, Dakar–Diass, Dakhla, Doha, Douala, Dubai–International, Errachidia, Frankfurt, Freetown, Geneva, Istanbul, Jeddah, Kinshasa–N'djili, Laayoune, Lagos, Libreville, Lisbon, Lomé, London–Gatwick, London–Heathrow, Luanda, Lyon, Madrid, Manchester, Malabo, Marrakesh, Marseille, Medina, Miami, Milan–Malpensa, Monrovia–Roberts, Montpellier, Montréal–Trudeau, Moscow–Domodedovo, Nantes, Naples, New York–JFK, Niamey, Nice, Nouakchott, Ouagadougou, Oujda, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Paris–Orly, Porto, Praia, Riyadh, Rome–Fiumicino, São Paulo–Guarulhos (resumes 7 December 2024), Seville, Strasbourg, Tel Aviv, Toronto–Pearson (begins 8 December 2024), Toulouse, Tunis, Turin, Venice, Washington–Dulles, Yaoundé
• Royal Air Maroc Express: Agadir, Al Hoceima, Fès, Gran Canaria, Málaga, Marrakesh, Nador, Ouarzazate, Oujda, Tangier, Tan Tan, Tétouan, Valencia, Zagora
• Saudia: Jeddah, Medina, Riyadh
• TAP Air Portugal: Lisbon
• Transavia: Amsterdam, Lyon, Nantes, Paris–Orly
• Seasonal: Marseille
• TUI fly: Belgium Bologna, Brussels, Lille, Paris–Orly, Rotterdam
• Tunisair: Tunis
• Turkish Airlines: Istanbul
• Seasonal: Antalya
• Vueling Seasonal: Barcelona

Mohammed V International Airport Cargo

Airlines Destinations

• Air France Cargo: Paris–Charles de Gaulle
• Lufthansa Cargo: Frankfurt
• Med Airlines: Bamako, Dakar–Senghor, Lisbon, Paris–Orly, Tangier
• Qatar Airways Cargo: Doha
• Royal Air Maroc Cargo: Abidjan, Accra, Bamako, Brussels, Douala, Frankfurt, Lagos, Libreville, London–Gatwick, Madrid
• Turkish Cargo: Istanbul

Mohammed V International Airport Traffic
Annual passenger traffic at CMN airport: Average growth 2004–2009

                            Traffic 2010                      2009                       2008                      2007                       2006                        2005                      2004
Aircraft Movements:  n/a –                       69,119 +1.11%      68,362 −2.5%      70,080 +7.6%         65,111 +9.2%        59,621 +13.9%       52,336 +5.86%
Passengers:                  7,245,508 +13,28 6,395,862 +2.95% 6,209,711 +6.0% 5,858,192 +15.5% 5,071,411 +12.1% 4,456,639 +17.1% 3,803,479 +10.73%
Freight (Tons):              n/a –                       53,469 -6.06%       56,919 −6.5%      60,682 +9.3%         55,673 +10.7%      50,285 +6.5%         47,152 +2.79%

Ground Transport

Rail

• The Al Bidaoui train service, operated by ONCF from 04:00 to 23:00, is available every hour and connects the airport to Casablanca's two main railway stations, Casa-Port Railway Terminal and Casa-Voyageurs Railway Station.

Car

• From Casablanca main access is by A3 Motorway.
• From Rabat by A1 Motorway through Tit Mellil and Road N9.
• From Beni Mellal by A4 Motorway.
• From Marrakech by A3 Motorway exit km 225.
• From El Jadida by A1 Motorway and A3 Motorway.

Incidents and Accidents

On 1 April 1970, a Royal Air Maroc Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle crashed on approach to Casablanca Mohammed V airport when it lost control at a height of about 500 feet. The fuselage broke in two. Sixty-one of the eighty-two passengers and crew were killed.

Mohammed V International Airport Overview

Mohammed V International Airport Airport Type: Public
Mohammed V International Airport Owner: ONDA
Mohammed V International Airport Operator: ONDA
Mohammed V International Airport Serves: Casablanca, Morocco
Mohammed V International Airport Location: Nouasseur
Mohammed V International Airport Hub For:
Air Arabia Maroc
Royal Air Maroc
Royal Air Maroc Express
Mohammed V International Airport Elevation AMSL: 656 ft / 200 m
Mohammed V International Airport Coordinates: 33°22′02″N 007°35′23″W
IATA: CMN ICAO: GMMN
Mohammed V International Airport Runways:
Direction   Length    Surface
m ft
17L/35R     3,720       12,205 Asphalt
17R/35L     3,720       12,205 Asphalt
Mohammed V International Airport Passengers (2022): 7,637,643
Mohammed V International Airport Passenger Change 19-22: Decrease -25.94%
Mohammed V International Airport Aircraft Movements (2022): 67,074
Mohammed V International Airport Economic & Social Impacts (2012): $731 million