Morocco airports witness remarkable passenger surge in 2023

Morocco’s airports have seen a surge in passenger numbers from January to November 2023.

With a total of 24,737,734 passengers, this marks a remarkable growth of 7% compared to the same period in 2019 and a striking 34% increase from 2022. Notably, this growth trend encompasses most airports across the country, including staggering increases at Tetouan Airport (+506%), Essaouira (+54%), Tangier (+42%), Nador (+34%), Oujda (+33%), Fez (+22%), and Agadir (+13%).

The National Airports Office (ONDA) recently announced the appointment of new leaders for five airports in Morocco, signaling organizational changes within the aviation sector.

This surge in passenger traffic is attributed to the resumption of numerous flights that were halted during the health crisis and the establishment of multiple new air routes.

Mohammed V airport experienced a remarkable recovery, achieving a 95% rebound in passenger numbers during the first 11 months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2019, accommodating 8,970,014 passengers.

In terms of international traffic, November displayed consistent growth rates with a 10% rise compared to November 2019 and an impressive 35% surge from 2022, welcoming a total of 22,298,582 passengers.

Looking ahead to 2024, ONDA forecasts a 6% increase in air traffic. With this projection, ONDA anticipates a turnover of 5.056 billion dirhams, indicating a notable 9% improvement compared to the estimated turnover for 2023, as announced during its Board of Directors meeting.

The Board, led by Minister of Transport and Logistics Mohammed Abdeljalil, reviewed the performance of the first ten months of 2023, which surpassed the 2019 activity level by 8%.

Projections for the closing of 2023 indicate an estimated traffic of 27 million passengers, marking a 29% increase from 2022 and an 8% rise from 2019, along with a turnover of MAD 4.6 billion, reflecting a 20% increase from 2022.