Quick Links Top airlines provide 3 million more seats North American expansion A growing European hotspot Summary The airport's top airlines will offer 3 million more seats in 2024 compared to 2019, boosting Marrakesh's connectivity. North America expansion saw Air Transat and United introduce routes to Marrakesh. Marrakesh has recently seen significant growth in tourist arrivals, with Aer Lingus adding a winter route from Dublin earlier this week.
Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marrakesh Menara Airport (RAK) in Morocco has witnessed a tremendous growth spurt in terms of airlines, routes, and seats on offer. While some airlines have left compared to 2019, their departure has been offset by the arrival of several new carriers, including United Airlines and Air Transat, which have provided the airport’s first connections to North America. Earlier this week, Ireland’s Aer Lingus also revealed that it would be launching a route from Dublin this coming winter, a testament to RAK’s successful 2024 growth.
Let’s take a look at the figures and some of the important new routes, including from the US and Canada. Top airlines provide 3 million more seats Comparing 2019 and 2024, seat data shows that the airports’ largest airlines have provided a combined net total of 3,231,780 more two-way seats. In order, these top 18 airlines non-exhaustively include: Ryanair easyJet Royal Air Maroc Transavia France Air Arabia Maroc TUI fly Belgium Transavia (Netherlands) TAP Air Portugal This figure also takes into account slight capacity reductions at Royal Air Maroc, TUI Fly Belgium, TAP Air Portugal, and Lufthansa .
Air Arabia Maroc has reduced its presence significantly, meanwhile, with service cuts over the last few years resulting in just over 73,000 two-way seats on offer this year compared with 430,000 in 2019. Since the end of the pandemic, the airport has also gained a number of new players, whose respective destinations are listed below. Airline Entry year Destination airBaltic 2022 Riga (RIX) Discover 2022 Munich (MUC), Frankfurt (FRA) Iberia Express 2023 Madrid (MAD) Jet2 2024 London Stansted (STN), Manchester (MAN), Birmingham (BHX), Newcastle (NCL) and Glasgow International (GLA) PLAY 2024 Reykjavik (KEF) United Airlines 2024 Newark (EWR) Air Transat 2024 Montréal (YUL) North American expansion The entry of United Airlines and Air Transat into the Marrakesh market demonstrates the destination’s increase in popularity.
American and Canadian tourism signals Marrakesh’s rise to become a high-spending destination. Smaller leisure destinations often aspire to have direct flights to the US, for instance, as it typically means higher-yielding tourists. Take Malta, for example, which wants a direct connection to North America despite it being financially unviable .
It would bring in higher-spending tourists and position Malta less as a budget holiday but rather as a luxury getaway. Air Transat’s year-round flights Air Transat has launched its first route to Africa. Air Transat was the first North American carrier to announce flights to Marrakesh, conveniently using its Airbus A321LR, a low-risk option for a route that had not been previously served.
It’s Montréal (YUL) to RAK operation first began in June, with flights running year-round. This is Air Transat’s first route to Africa. The Canadian carrier offers two weekly connections year-round, although this year, between June and April, it added a third weekly frequency.
According to data provided by aviation analytics firm Cirium , this winter, Air Transat will offer a combined weekly total of 398 seats each way to RAK, with flights on Wednesday and Saturday. At the time of the launch, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Air Transat, Joseph Adamo, said: "We are extremely proud to introduce this new route between Montreal and Marrakech, an initiative that not only enhances our destination offerings but also strengthens our mission of bringing people closer together. This direct route will allow the Moroccan diaspora to reunite more easily with their loved ones while offering Canadian travellers a unique opportunity to discover the cultural and historical wonders of Morocco.
This is a major milestone in our history, demonstrating our commitment to creating memorable and meaningful travel experiences.” The route is complemented by the company’s package holiday offers that include guided tours and à la carte hotels. United's operation in October United will provide a connection from Newark beginning October 24th .
The route will be operated by Boeing 767-300ER equipment, featuring 99 economy class seats, 22 premium economy seats, and 46 in United Polaris. There is something to be said about the carrier’s choice of the premium-heavy configured 767s. This is unlikely to be a question of a lack of aircraft, but more an expectation of higher-paying passengers.
Deploying the aircraft to Marrakesh from October is an effective use of an aircraft during the winter period where there is typically less demand for destinations that are popular during the summer season. This route forms part of United’s continued venture into largely ‘unexpected’ destinations. Patrick Quayle, United's Senior Vice President of Global Network Planning and Alliances, said the following at the time of the route’s announcement.
“We have consistently been ahead of the curve in finding hidden gem destinations for our customers to explore and remain committed to providing the most unique slate of travel options for their adventures abroad.” United will also be the first US airline to offer flights to Morocco, breaking Royal Air Maroc’s monopoly. In November 2024, United will offer 501 weekly seats, divided into three flights per week, leaving Newark on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Combining Air Transat and United Marrakesh’s North America network spans five weekly flights and 899 weekly seats this winter. A growing European hotspot The Moroccan Ministry of Tourism reported that during the first six months of 2024, the country recorded 7.4 million tourist arrivals since the start of the year.
This represents a 14% increase compared to the same period last year. Numbers reached 17.4 million for the entirety of 2023, with expectations placing 2026 arrivals at 17.
5 million, rising to 26 million in 2030. Arrivals from Europe are the country’s main tourism source. For Marrakesh specifically, its Regional Tourism Delegation, says that tourist arrivals increased by 63% during the first five months of 2023 compared to 2019.
Noteworthy developments this year include Ryanair’s domestic expansion following an agreement signed with the Moroccan government. This summer, it has 14-based 737 aircraft, of which half are in Marrakesh. In terms of based capacity therefore, Marrakesh is the airline’s most important Moroccan airport.
The airline will offer a total of 175 routes from Morocco. Ryanair joins two Morocco-based carriers in the domestic market. Ryanair is Marrakesh’s largest airline this year in terms of seat capacity on offer with around 4.
19 million. easyJet comes in at second place with 2.2 million seats in 2024.
Earlier this year, easyJet committed to double its seat offer in Morocco by 2028. Get all the latest aviation news right here on Simple Flying This week, Aer Lingus announced it would launch a winter seasonal flight from Dublin to Marrakesh in October, directly competing with Ryanair. Aer Lingus says the development comes “in response to global trends showing a growing desire for autumn and winter sun getaways.
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