Rabat – Air passenger traffic rose by 20 percent during the first ten months of this year compared to the corresponding period last year.
According to the National Office of Airports (ONDA), 4,275,000 travelers have used Menara Airport between January and October this year compared to 3,549,000 in the same months of last year.
ONDA said 504,000 passengers traveled through Menara Airport in October, up 19 percent compared to the 422,000 passengers recorded during the same period last year.
Menara International Airport accounts for 21 percent of all air traffic in Morocco, second only to Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca, which accounts for 45 percent.
The most popular non-domestic flight in Morocco in October was the Marrakech-Paris Orly flight, carrying 57,000 travelers, accounting for more than 2 percent of national flights. The flight between Marrakech and London Gatwick ranked fourth, with 35,000 passengers, accounting for slightly over 2 percent of Morocco’s total air traffic.
Passengers at Menara Airport face lengthy lines at passport control upwards of three hours sometimes.
One British traveler posted a scathing review on the airport’s customer feedback site earlier this month: “A beautifully dramatic airy building, but queue at immigration was completely unacceptable: the worst I’ve ever encountered in 35 years of flying regularly all around the world! It took us 3.5 hours to get from back of queue to an immigration officer’s kiosk.”
Special offers by budget airlines Ryanair and Air Arabia and airport measures to end delays and long lines at immigration may continue to increase Menara International Airport’s passenger traffic.
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