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Rabat- Moroccan summer vacationers leaving Morocco from Tangier Med Port have been stuck in a 10-kilometer-long traffic jam.
Moroccan expats returning to their homes in Europe have been waiting for more than 24 hours to board ferries to Europe through Tangier Med Port, due to the high number of travelers heading home at the same time.
Video of the traffic jam which have been circulating social media show long lines of vehicles on the road leading to the port. Some travelers can be seen waiting outside of their cars.
On Wednesday, 53,200 travelers left Morocco from Tangier Med Port, the highest single-day number since Operation “Marhaba” launched, according to the secretary of state to the minister of equipment, transport, logistics, and water, Najib Boulif.
Boulif’s prediction that “the registered number of travelers on Thursday will most likely” be as high as that of Wednesday has come to life.
Tangier Port authorities expect that the high volume would continue through the upcoming days until September 15, the last day of Operation Marhaba, which began on June 5 to welcome home Moroccans living abroad.
In a Facebook statement, Boulif apologized to travelers for the ordeal, saying that Morocco and Spain are working together to find solutions to the situation, considering adding another ship to the ferry route to reduce overcrowdedness.
Meanwhile, Tangier Port authorities warned passengers that the waiting period before boarding ferries may exceed ten hours. They invited travelers to postpone their trips until after September 15 to avoid the traffic jam.
According to Tangier Med Port Authority, a total of 842,698 passengers entered Morocco through Tangier Med from June to August. During the same period, 371,861 passengers, 118,579 vehicles, and 1,695 buses left Morocco through the same port which is a veritable gateway to Africa and Europe.
