Sania Ramel was the first military
airfield built in the
Spanish Protectorate of Morocco. it became a key element in the Spanish military effort on the West front of the
Rif War, even if it was prone to
flooding in winter. It also played a relevant role in the beginning of the
Spanish Civil War. In the early morning of
18 July 1936, the commander of the military air base,
Ricardo de la Puente Bahamonde (
Francisco Franco's cousin), refused to join the uprising against the government of the
Republic. Nevertheless, lacking reinforcements from Madrid, he had to surrender to the rebels after a few hours of combat (he would be subsequently executed in August by the new
Nationalist authorities in the
Mount Hacho Fortress in
Ceuta; Franco did nothing to prevent it). Before surrendering the base, De la Puente managed to render useless all the
Breguet bombers parked there. On the following day, 19 July, the
de Havilland Dragon Rapide flying
Francisco Franco from the
Canary Islands landed in Sania Ramel, where the senior rebel officers welcomed him. Franco assumed command of the
Spanish Army in Morocco. They held an improvised conference around the plane. The most important contribution of the Sania Ramel airfield to the Nationalist war effort during the Spanish Civil War was its role in the
airlift that flew most of the Army of Africa into mainland Spain. It was the world's first long-range combat airlift. At that time, the rebels in Spanish Morocco were being blocked by the Spanish fleet which remained mostly loyal to the government and the Army of Africa, the only professional army in Spain, was key to secure the rebellion in mainland Spain. On 23 July a German
Lufthansa plane, which had been requisitioned by the rebels, took off from Sania Ramel taking Franco's delegation to Berlin. Its purpose was to convince
Hitler to supply the rebels with
transport aircraft. On 28 July, the
Ju 52 that took the delegation back to Tetouan started the airlift into the
Tablada airfield in
Seville, running four flights a day. On 31 July, the first three Ju 52 (out of the ten promised by Hitler) arrived to Tetouan. The following ones arrived some days later. A
dummy company (
HISMA) was set up in Tetouan to provide a
cover up for the operation. It was to be known as
Operation Magic Fire. Before the start of the
Spanish Civil War, a paved
runway was built which enabled Sania Ramel to serve as civil airport for Tetouan. Thus, after the end of the HISMA operations,
Iberia took charge of the passenger and cargo operations in Sania Ramel. Initially, two routes were established. One from Tetouan to
Zaragoza, and another one to
Vitoria. The Tetouan airport continued to be relevant for the new regime and despite fuel supply restrictions two routes continued to make stopovers at Sania Ramel during the early post-war period:
Madrid-
Seville-
Tetouan-
Melilla and
Seville-
Tetouan-
Canary Islands. Although by 1943 only the former route kept operating, the airport was enlarged. After Morocco's independence in 1957, the airport was transferred to the new administration, after which it started to decline. Only small aircraft currently land at the Sania Ramel facilities and even if there were plans to make greater use of the airport, urban development in the surrounding areas would make it unfeasible. ==Facilities==