Morocco Airport Spotting Highlights

by Matt Falcus
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Morocco Aircraft

Morocco Aircraft

Morocco has become a popular and affordable place to visit, especially for Europeans. Most low cost airlines now fly there, and Ryanair recently announced it was starting bases in Fez and Marrakech.

I even travelled to Marrakech last year for an autumn holiday and loved the scenery, history and culture.
Morocco has 14 airports with regular airline service, according to Airline Route Mapper. Here’s a look at some of the highlights of these airports:

 

Morocco Airports

Casablanca
One of the most famous cities in Morocco, Casablanca is also the main industrial city. Its Mohammed V International Airport is the busiest in Morocco, with flights across Europe, West Africa, the Middle East, and North America. It is the hub airport for national carrier, Royal Air Maroc, which provides the majority of the movements.

Cargo is also represented at the airport, with airlines such as Air France Cargo, UPS, DHL Airways, Turkish Cargo and Med Airlines Maroc flying in regularly.

Casablanca’s former main airport at Anfa Airport has now had its runways and taxiways ripped up, but it is still the headquarters of Royal Air Maroc. There are still a few aircraft at the airline’s training base here, including a Lockheed Constellation, Sud Aviacion Caravelle, and Boeing 727. These are being restored for display in a museum.

Marrakech Terminal

 

Marrakech
Passengers: ~3 million. Main Airlines: Ryanair, Royal Air Maroc, Jetairfly, easyJet
Marrakech Menara Airport is a busy low-cost and holiday airline hub throughout the year. It is also a military base, and hosts an annual airshow. You can read my spotting guide to Marrakech Airport here.

Rabat
Main Airlines:
Royal Air Maroc, Ryanair
The capital city of Morocco is served by Rabat-Salé Airport. It has a single terminal, and also a military base on site. Despite being the capital, it is not the busiest airport in Morocco with the only regular services being to Madrid and Paris via Iberia and Air France respectively. Ryanair will add services to the city from April and May 2013, however.

Agadir
Passengers:
1.5 million Main Airlines: Royal Air Maroc/RAM Express, easyJet, Jetairfly
This major city in the south of Morocco has a  busy airport handling over 1.5 million passengers per year. It is to receive a new terminal building to replace its ageing example, as it expects traffic to grow.

At the moment, it is handling flights mainly from holiday and low cost carriers across Europe, with some links to the nearby Canary Islands too.

The original Inezgane Airport close to the city centre is still in use as a military air base.

Tangier
Passengers:
650,000 Main Airlines: Air Arabia Maroc, Royal Air Maroc/RAM Express, Ryanair
Ibn Battouta Airport serves the northern port city of Tangier. It has modern facilities, and handles around 700,000 passengers per year. Traffic is a mix of holiday/low cost airlines alongside regional links to Spain and Casablanca. There are also some cargo services by Air Contractors and Med Airlines.

Fes
Passengers:
500,000 Main Airlines: Ryanair
This beautiful historic city has a small airport which recently gained attention from Ryanair, who will open up a base there this year, vastly increasing the number of routes. In addition to Ryanair, Fes is also served by Air Arabia Maroc, easyJet, JetairFly, Royal Air Maroc, Transavia, and Vueling.

Oujda
Main Airlines: Royal Air Maroc, Ryanair, Jetairfly
A growing airport on the northeast border with Algeria, and a former World War II airfield, Oujda Angads Airport follows a similar trend to the rest of Morocco with a growth in low cost and holiday airlines. Royal Air Maroc also links it to Casablanca and a few European destinations.

Other Moroccan airports with airline service are:

Al Hoceima
Melilla (Spanish enclave)
Nador
Essaouira
Ouarzarate
Laayoune
Dakhla

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