Rabat – Morocco’s National Airports Office (ONDA) announced on Friday that it is expecting the number of visitors to the North African country to exceed 30 million passengers in 2024.
ONDA predicted a 23% annual growth rate in the traffic at the Marrakech-Menara Airport in a statement while indicating that traffic in the Agadir Al Massira Airport is set to reach 22%.
For the Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport, the volume of visitors would grow at a 13% annual rate, the statement explained.
Air traffic started 2024 on a positive note, ONDA said, noting a commercial traffic volume of 2.2 million passengers in January 2024, up 15% year-on-year.
According to the statement, this positive momentum is driven by the rise in arrivals from the international market — with over 2 million travelers, up by 16% from January 2023. Meanwhile, the international market represents 91% of Morocco’s overall air traffic.
The month of January also saw the launch of a number of new international air routes, namely Agadir-Nantes by the airline Volotea and Tanger-Cairo by Air Cairo, which is making its debut in Morocco.
As Morocco prepares to jointly host the 2030 FIFA World Cup with Spain and Portugal, the country is expected to see a spike in air traffic.
In recent months, a number of airlines announced expanding their operations in Morocco ahead of the anticipated rise in demand.
Earlier this week, the low-cost carrier Air Arabia Maroc announced launching new direct flights from its new airport base in Rabat, linking the Moroccan capital to five European destinations.
Likewise, in December 2023, Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair unveiled a $1.4 billion investment plan to bolster its presence in Morocco. The funds will be used to increase Ryanair’s flights to 1,100 weekly flights across 175 routes, featuring 35 new connections, Ryanair said.
It further said that its debut in the Moroccan domestic market will see the company operating 11 internal routes. The Irish company’s Summer 2024 schedule is set to cater to over 5 million passengers, a 33% surge in traffic to, from, and now within Morocco.
Ryanair equally announced the establishment of a fourth Moroccan base in Tangier under a $200 million investment plan and the introduction of two aircraft. In addition, the low-cost carrier’s flights will now extend to Beni-Mellal and Errachidia airports.
Read Also: Air Arabia Maroc Launches Flights Connecting Rabat to 5 European Destinations
