Road connectivity and safety in Operation Marhaba - Crossing the Strait
- Land routes
- Belgium-France-Spain-Morocco route
- Italy-France-Spain-Morocco route
- France-Spain-Morocco route
- Spain-Morocco routes
- Road safety and the Special Plan OPE 2024
The routes to Morocco are very varied, but they have a common denominator: crossing the Strait of Gibraltar. To analyse the routes and methods of transport in depth, let us first separate the routes into road and sea routes, and air routes.
With regard to roads, the first thing to consider is the point of departure. Based on data obtained from companies, such as Baleària, and institutions such as the Ministry of the Interior or the Directorate General of Traffic (DGT), three quarters of the people who travelled during the period between 5 June and 15 September 2023 came from Belgium, France, Italy and Spain.
Knowing this data, we will focus our analysis on the possible routes that could be taken by those wishing to travel to Morocco by road and sea. The criteria used include price, distance, and estimated time. All the information provided is intended to facilitate a safe and smooth journey, and it is not obligatory to follow these recommendations to the letter.
Land routes
The road system linking the European Union has been one of the most important developments that has facilitated the course of Operation Marhaba - Crossing the Strait in recent years. The development and expansion of the EU road system was key to facilitating the campaign for the crossing of the Strait. Improved road connectivity has led to an increase in the number of tourists, which has led to increased security measures.
The advent of intelligent traffic systems has optimised the flow of vehicles, reducing traffic congestion and waiting times. International cooperation has enabled effective management and implementation of common safety standards. These improvements will not only benefit travellers participating in Operation Marhaba, but will also boost tourism and the regional economy.
Belgium-France-Spain-Morocco route
Connections between the different European countries make two routes to Spain possible, one via the northern border and the other via the eastern border of the country.
The route across the Belgian-French border in northern France crosses the border between Belgium and France on roads connecting cities such as Brussels in Belgium and Lille in France. From there, you can continue south on motorways such as the A1 and the A26 which will take you to the French-Spanish border.
Regarding the route across the Belgian-French border in eastern France: this route crosses the border between Belgium and France on roads connecting cities such as Liège in Belgium and Luxembourg. From there, you can continue south-west on motorways such as the A31 and A6 which will take you to the French-Spanish border.
On both routes it takes about 14 hours to complete the journey to France and 24 hours to Algeciras.
Italy-France-Spain-Morocco route
From Italy, the routes increase with respect to Belgium. From the transalpine country, there are three options: take the Western, Central or Eastern Alps route. From the route across the Italian-French border in the Western Alps, which connects cities such as Turin in Italy and Briançon in France, or Nice in France and Ventimiglia in Italy, you can continue west on motorways such as the A8 and A7 to the French-Spanish border.
If you take the route across the central Alps you will pass through cities such as Turin, Milan, Bardonecchia and Aosta, from where you can continue west on motorways such as the A41 and A43 to the French-Spanish border. Finally, there is the route across the border in the Eastern Alps. This route crosses the Alps on roads connecting cities such as Turin in Italy and Modane in France. From there, you can continue west on motorways such as the A43 and A41 which will take you to the French-Spanish border.
On both routes it takes about 15 hours to complete the journey to France and 25 hours to Algeciras.
France-Spain-Morocco route
As with Italy, France has three routes connecting France with the Iberian Peninsula. The first of these is the Franco-Spanish cross-border route in the Pyrenees. This route crosses the Pyrenees with roads connecting cities such as Hendaye in France and Irun in Spain, or Perpignan in France and La Jonquera in Spain. From there you can continue south along the A-7 motorway, which runs along Spain's Mediterranean coast to Algeciras or Malaga, where you can catch a ferry to Morocco.
The route crosses the French-Spanish border in the central Pyrenees. This route crosses the Pyrenees with roads connecting towns such as Bayonne, San Sebastian, Biarritz and St Jean de Luz. You can then drive south on the A-15 motorway which will take you to Irun in Spain, where you can drive south on the A-7 motorway as mentioned above.
The route crosses the French-Spanish border in the eastern Pyrenees. The route crosses the Pyrenees with roads connecting cities such as Perpignan in France and Figueres in Spain. From there, travellers can continue south along the AP-7 motorway along Spain's Mediterranean coast to Algeciras or Malaga.
On both routes the journey time to France is around 9 hours and 19 hours to Algeciras.
Spain-Morocco routes
In the case of Spain, in analysis, it is a question of seeking the maximum optimisation in terms of journey times and safety. Although there are currently more than 10 possible routes, only the three routes most used by users will be analysed: from Madrid, from Barcelona and from Valencia.
From Madrid to Algeciras or Tarifa: From Madrid you can follow the A-4 or A-5 motorway south to Algeciras or Tarifa on the south coast of Spain. These ports offer ferries to Tangier and Ceuta in Morocco. The journey time is 7 hours.
From Barcelona to Algeciras or Tarifa: from Barcelona you can take the AP-7 motorway south to Algeciras or Tarifa. These ports offer ferries to Tangier and Ceuta in Morocco. The journey time is estimated between 10 and 12 hours.
From Valencia to Algeciras or Tarifa: from Valencia you can take the AP-7 motorway south to Algeciras or Tarifa. These ports offer ferries to Tangier and Ceuta in Morocco. From Valencia the journey would take between 5 and 6 hours.
Road safety and the Special Plan OPE 2024
For its proper functioning and coordination, the Special OPE 2024 Plan has been created. This project includes a broad mechanism that will maintain the structure of previous years; and has three specific objectives: to guarantee the fluidity of traffic on national roads, to reduce waiting times in ports and to improve services to the inhabitants of the Maghreb, who are the main beneficiaries of this operation.
This plan includes the Fleet Plan, which is the central axis of action. It determines the number of trains and their capacity, as well as the number of journeys necessary to guarantee the movement of vehicles and passengers. In addition, provincial coordination plans were added, as well as plans for each of the nine participating ports: Algeciras and Tarifa in Cadiz; Almeria, Malaga, Motril (Granada), Alicante, Valencia, Ceuta and Melilla.
Finally, a detailed road safety plan will be implemented. As in previous versions, the planning takes into account critical days, the days with the highest passenger traffic. This year, these sessions will focus on the following dates: 14 and 16 June, 1 and 5 August, and finally 30 August and 1 September.