Gran aumento de la facturación aeroportuaria en Marruecos

Morocco confirms a historic rise in turnover at the country's airports. The Moroccan National Airports Office (ONDA) has reported that, compared to 2020, passengers who have circulated through the Kingdom's airports are 29% more. On the other hand, it also highlights that, although these data are promising, compared to 2019, 52% less has been accounted for.

The growth after the two years of pandemic affirms that there is a resurgence in the activity of Moroccan airport platforms. The Minister of Transport, Mohamed Abdeljalil, said that passenger traffic has grown to around 10 million people, representing 40% of the traffic achieved in 2019.

In addition, ONDA also expects to achieve high revenues by 2022. The department says that by the end of the year, it aims to achieve a turnover of 2.8 billion dirhams, based on air traffic forecasts. 

The bureau's statement forecasts an estimated air traffic of 14 million passengers, or 56% of 2019 traffic. It also adds that flight activity will be at 67% of the 2019 level. On the other hand, and for this to be effective, it is intended to put a budget of about two million dirhams, earmarked for investments in the sector. Half of this will be allocated exclusively to the development of airport capacity. 

The Moroccan government, for its part, also explains in the Finance Law 2022 that this trend will grow over time. "From 2022 to 2024, air traffic should experience a gradual recovery estimated in 2022 at 60% of the 2019 level, with 15 million passengers, then 80% in 2023, with 20 million and before returning, in 2024, to a normal activity close to that of 2019, with 25 million passengers identified," the document states.

Although the data are promising, the pandemic situation has had a serious impact on the tourism sector. Despite this, the figures are good, despite the fact that the UK reopened its borders in mid-June 2020. On the other hand, it is worth noting that the costs of closing the country against the rise of COVID-19 have been very serious.

Since early December last year, Morocco decided to close the country's borders in an attempt to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant among its citizens. In order to preserve the gains made by the Kingdom against the coronavirus, the competent authorities decided to implement these measures despite the serious consequences they would have in the future.

Moreover, this closure coincides with the pre-Christmas and Christmas period, when there is a significant increase in flights and travel worldwide. The situation left many Moroccans outside the country unable to spend the holidays with their families, while forcing many tourists visiting the Kingdom to stay inside the country until a solution is found. Tourism professionals also regret that holidaymakers were unable to come, as the key dates of the Christmas season usually see almost 100 % occupancy in hotels. 

Experts at the time spoke of a catastrophic end of the year for tourism activity. Many of them even stated that the figures would be similar to those of 2020, which saw a 79% drop in the sector compared to 2019.

For the time being, all direct flights and routes to the Kingdom are suspended until 31 January. After that date, travellers will be able to enter Moroccan territory, subject to certain conditions and depending on the country they come from, all following the recommendations of the Moroccan Ministry of Health. One of these measures is to ask for a certificate of vaccination and negative PCR carried out less than 48 hours before arrival in the country.