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

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 located 9 km south of Annaba

Annaba

Annaba is a city in the northeastern corner of Algeria near the river Seybouse. It is located in Annaba Province. With a population of 257,359 , it is the fourth largest city in Algeria. It is a leading industrial centre in eastern Algeria....

, a city in Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

. It is named after Rabah Bitat

Rabah Bitat

Rabah Bitat . He served as President of the People's National Assembly from April 1977 to October 1990 and was the fifth President of Algeria from 27 December 1978 to 9 February 1979. He became president after the death of Houari Boumédiènne and was replaced by Chadli Bendjedid...

, a president of Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

 (1978-1979).

Terminal

The terminal has an annual capacity of 500,000 passengers.

A project to build a new international terminal has been awarded to the Egyptian company Arab Contractor. The terminal should be completed in 2007, leaving the existing one for hajj

Hajj

The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...

 flights and peak season charters to Europe.

Statistics

	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Passengers
Total	416,022	435,451	349,008	348,503	360,121
Domestic	316,751	331,580	239,114	247,855	250,285
International	99,271	103,871	109,894	100,648	109,836
Freight
Total	302.750	357.270	329.148	328.180	359.217
Domestic	185.532	180.773	147.519	215.883	237.124
International	117.218	176.497	181.629	112.297	122.093
Aircraft movements
Total	9,060	6,468	6,071	5,995	6,203
Domestic	8,089	5,439	4,849	4,893	5,041
International	971	1,029	1,177	1,102	1,162

Airlines and destinations

World War II

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

Luftwaffe

Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....

. Later captured by the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

, the USAAF Twelfth Air Force in the Western Desert Campaign

Western Desert Campaign

The Western Desert Campaign, also known as the Desert War, was the initial stage of the North African Campaign during the Second World War. The campaign was heavily influenced by the availability of supplies and transport. The ability of the Allied forces, operating from besieged Malta, to...

in 1942-1943.