Marrakech – EasyJet officially launched its first base in Africa on Wednesday at Marrakech-Menara airport, also celebrating 20 years of serving Morocco. The inauguration took place in the presence of the Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT) Director General Achraf Fayda and easyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis.
The base is equipped with three Airbus aircraft and represents a total investment exceeding €300 million. It is expected to offer up to 4 million seats in its first year of operation. The facility represents a direct outcome of a strategic partnership concluded in autumn 2025 between ONMT and the British carrier.
Jarvis told Morocco World News (MWN) that the airline is “very excited to be opening our first base outside of Europe here in Marrakech.” He noted that easyJet is now “operating 30 routes from Marrakech to and from eight different European countries” and 52 routes across Morocco from Europe.
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Jarvis confirmed to MWN that the airline will be introducing another six routes shortly as part of the expansion. Three winter 2026 services will connect Prague, Newcastle, and Zurich to Marrakech. Three additional spring 2026 routes will link Nantes to Essaouira, Bordeaux to Agadir, and Birmingham to Agadir. The additions bring easyJet’s total route count to Morocco to 58.
He added that Marrakech was already “one of the most popular destinations” in the network, making the base “very logical.”
Several existing seasonal lines from Marrakech will also shift to year-round operations. Routes to Lille, Strasbourg, and Hamburg, previously limited to peak periods, will now run on a permanent basis. The move is aimed at stabilizing connectivity beyond the high season.
The base is also expected to generate around 100 direct jobs and a wider pool of indirect employment tied to the local tourism ecosystem.
With the expansion, easyJet now serves five Moroccan airports: Marrakech, Agadir, Rabat, Essaouira, and Tanger. The company holds the position of largest carrier to Morocco from both the UK and Switzerland, and ranks as the third-largest airline operating in the country.
The partnership also extends to easyJet Holidays. Garry Wilson, CEO of the UK-based tour operator and subsidiary of the low-cost airline, told MWN that the company has doubled its passenger numbers to Marrakech every year since 2018. He said the company intends “to be the largest travel company in Morocco by 2030,” describing the base opening as “one of the strategic steps to doing that.”
Wilson called the partnership with Morocco “a huge privilege” and indicated easyJet Holidays is focused on promoting “Morocco and Marrakech within the European market.” The holidays arm already lists more than 70 accommodation options in Marrakech.
The base had been first announced last year on October 15, when easyJet and the ONMT signed a long-term development agreement. At the time, Jarvis described Morocco as easyJet’s “fastest growing market outside Europe.”
EasyJet has operated in Morocco since 2006 and has transported nearly 20 million passengers to the country over the past two decades. The Marrakech base cements its position as the second-largest airline at the city’s airport.
The ONMT framed the base as part of a broader effort to diversify source markets, strengthen air capacity, and support what it called “a more structured and sustainable tourism performance.”
Read also: ONMT, EasyJet Forge Five-Year Partnership to Boost International Connectivity
