Morocco’s overall air traffic recorded in November 2020 a decline of 81.24% compared to the same period in 2019.
According to data provided by the National Airports Office (ONDA), passenger traffic at the Hassan I airport of Laayoune has declined by 51.46% during the first eleven months of 2020 compared to the same period of the previous year. The airport took 3.24% of the total volume of air traffic across Morocco, in November 2020, making it the 10th most frequented airport in the country.
The number of passengers who transited through this airport platform reached 113,155 at the end of November, against 233,108 passengers during the same period of 2019, adds the same source.
For the month of November alone, some 12,130 passengers used the airport of Laayoune, against 23,978 passengers during the same period of the previous year, a decrease of 49.41%. The Hassan I airport ended the year 2019 with a jump of 15.25% in terms of passenger traffic compared to a year earlier.
The number of passengers having transited through Laayoune’s airport reached 255,610 at the end of 2019.
The overall commercial air traffic of passengers from various airports in Morocco recorded in November 2020 a decline of 81.24% compared to the same period in 2019, with 374,731 passengers, as opposed to 1,997 221 passengers welcomed in November 2019.
The significant decline reflects the repercussions of the COVID-19 crisis on international travel and on the sector of tourism in Morocco.
According to data collected by the Directorate of Financial Studies and Forecasts (DEPF), published in August 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic crisis caused Morocco’s tourism sector a loss of MAD 18.2 billion ($2 billion) in the first seven months of 2020. The number represents a decline of 44.1% in revenue. In fact, a report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released in August 2020 shows that Morocco’s tourism sector is the fourth most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic across the world.
