Despite the resumption of air travel, strict travel requirements are still heavily affecting airport activity.
Air traffic in Morocco witnessed an annual decline of 71.68% by the end of November, according to the National Airports Office (ONDA).
Moroccan airports received 6,523,369 passengers in the first 11 months of 2020, compared to 23,036,239 passengers in the first 11 months of 2019.
Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca, Morocco’s largest airport, received 2,689,222 passengers, marking an annual decline of 71.57%.
Meanwhile, the Marrakech-Menara airport received 1,444,688 passengers (-75.41%) and Agadir-Al Massira 551,533 passengers (-70.13%).
In November alone, Moroccan airports received 374,731 passengers. In November 2019, they received 1,997,221 passengers, 81.24% more than the traffic recorded in the same period this year.
The Mohammed V Airport received 168,313 passengers in November, 78.21% less traffic than the same period in 2019. Monthly traffic in the Marrakech-Menara airport declined by 94.42% (571,223 to 31,878 passengers) and in Agadir-Al Massira by 84.46% (165,534 to 25,725 passengers).
Other airports that witnessed a significant decline in monthly traffic between November 2019 and November 2020 are Rabat-Sale (-84.60%), Essaouira (-96.36%), and Ouarzazate (-92.78%).
The most popular international air route in November was Casablanca-Paris Orly, with 14,259 passengers, followed by Oujda-Paris Orly (8,938), Casablanca-Dubai (8,641), Tangier-Malaga (8,599), and Marrakech-Paris Orly (8,012).
The decline in air traffic is only natural in light of the strict requirements Morocco imposed on travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Freight air traffic to and from Morocco reached 5,716.36 tonnes in November. Compared to the 8,354.92 tonnes recorded in November 2019, the traffic only declined by 31.58%.
