Definitively, in 2001, Air Nostrum acquired Binter Mediterráneo, thus keeping the monopoly of Melilla routes: Málaga, Almería, Valencia and Madrid.

[14] In 2004, Vueling carried out studies to implement the Barcelona-Melilla route, but never began operations due to the dimensions of the runway and the category of the airport.

[14] That same year, Airmel-Club Aéreo de Melilla appears teaching private airplane pilot classes, thus adding to the multiple visits of small planes, rallies and aerial hugs that have been taking place in the city.

[16] At the beginning of 2009, Air Europa carried out tests with the Embraer 195 in the LGW simulator to present them to Civil Aviation to obtain the corresponding permits, made maximum landing weight approaches, on both runways, in all types of weather conditions, with engine failure, etc.

[22] On 21 July 2014 Air Europa confirmed the previous rumors, took a step forward and decided to start operations with the inaugural route Malaga-Melilla with a first flight of around 90% occupancy.

[24] Throughout the year 2018, the procedures for, under pressure from the Government of the Autonomous City itself and its citizens, given the widespread frustration and discomfort with the cancellation of the lines with Granada and Almería, are initiated, elaborated and formalized.

after more than twenty years with daily and weekly flights, make the lines with Almería, Granada and Seville a public service obligation.

[25] On 30 November 2018 Hélity began operations with the inaugural route Ceuta-Melilla with a first flight of an AgustaWestland AW139.In January 2020 suspends the line with Melilla.

Then the exact date was given: 30 November 2022 and now the Government delegate postpones it within a maximum period of two months, which would place a new limit in March of this year.

The company has shown its interest in continuing to connect the city with the peninsula if the airport's classification changes or if the runway is expanded and larger aircraft such as the Embraer 195 of its fleet can land.

[29] At the beginning of 2023, the Romanian airline AirConnect proposed a connectivity plan for Melilla with Malaga, Madrid and other European cities such as Porto, Lisboa and Faro.

[26] In July 2023, the government of Melilla requested that the airlines with Madrid and Malaga be declared Public Service Obligations, the extension of the airport's schedule and landing strip.

[30] In October 2023, EasyJet and Binter Canarias showed their interest in operating in Melilla and the need to expand the landing strip for their respective Airbus A319 and Embraer 195-E2.

[32] In addition, the local government announced tourist vouchers that will subsidize 75% of air transportation to "non-resident" travelers in Melilla.

[34] In November 2024, following the cancellations and diversions to Málaga due to low clouds, the Government of Melilla presented a non-legislative proposal in the Congress of Deputies, the main objective of which is to ask the Government of Spain to create a technical commission to study both the extension of the runway and the elements of satellite navigation that are viable for the Melilla airport.

[38] The year 2024 has marked the record for the "highest volume of traffic" in the history of Melilla airport, with a total of 507,957 passengers and 10,977 flights.

[39] In January 2025, Binter Canarias announced that it is evaluating the feasibility of operating flights at Melilla Airport following recent improvements to its infrastructure.

This improvement opens the possibility for greater connectivity for Melilla, potentially facilitating new air routes between the city and other parts of Spain.

The local orography causes this threshold to be moved to the north, which greatly penalizes the payment burden (fare and suitcases) and distance from which it would be arrived.

[9] With the change of category to 3C and adaptation of the approach to type C, companies with aircraft such as the A320 and the Boeing737 can operate with the current dimensions in Melilla, but with penalties, which is why it is necessary to extend the runway by 270 m., towards the south and another 350 m., useful to the north.

[9] Despite the increase in passengers and the demands for the expansion of the runway or its adaptation to other aircraft models with greater capacity, this has not been carried out by Aena, making it impossible for other airlines to arrive nor new routes.

[9] The airport's Master Plan does not contemplate expanding the runway because only the aircraft ATR 72 and the destinations Malaga and Madrid are analyzed.

The current radio aids (VOR/DME and NDB) are on Melilla soil, but they do not prevent the city from being cut off on days with low clouds at 700/800 feet.

With an offset locator or RNAV (satellite) Approach System, airport operations with adverse weather conditions would be allowed.

The rate varies depending on the route and the time of the trip, these are some examples:[60] To the Parador Nacional, €7 To the city center, €6.5 To the beaches, €6 Saturdays and Sundays €1 additional each way.

The Ministry of Transport had accepted the proposal to name the Melilla airport after Virgilio Leret, who invented the jet engine which he patented in 1935.

The local government is in favor of naming streets and infrastructures after people from Melilla, as is the case of Antonio Molina, civil guard murdered by the ETA terrorist group in 2002.

Furthermore, he claims that Virgilio Leret, the Republican military engineer who was shot in the Civil War, is not the right person to bear the name of the airport.