Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport ranked first in terms of air traffic on a list of the five busiest airports in Africa.
Before the covid-19 pandemic, Mohammed V International Airport received an average of 10 million visitors per year, according to data cited in Simple Flying’s report.
Like other airports around the world, Casablanca airport has seen a sharp drop in passenger numbers over the past two years, but the airport is bouncing back and regaining 80% of 2019 traffic.
The airport has seen heavy traffic in recent weeks, with a large number of flights operated by Air Arabia, a low-cost Emirati airline, and Moroccan flag carrier Royal Air Maroc.
According to the same ranking, Cape Town International Airport in South Africa ranks second on the list of the busiest airports in Africa. Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Ethiopia, Cairo International Airport and Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg occupy the third, fourth and fifth places respectively.
In the first three months of 2022, Moroccan airports welcomed more than 2 million passengers, according to data from Morocco’s National Airports Office (ONDA).
Despite the strong recovery, Moroccan air traffic remains 20% lower than before the pandemic. Indeed, Mohammed V airport welcomed 565,484 passengers in March, i.e. 29% less than 2019 traffic and the number of flights within the same airport amounted to 5,330, i.e. 25% less than 2019 traffic. .
The highest post-pandemic recovery rate is attributed to airports in the northern and eastern regions of the country which, according to the ONDA report, recovered more than 100% of pre-pandemic traffic.
As for the overall collection rate of national air traffic, Morocco recorded 67% in March, which remains above the international average of 71%.
Regarding air freight, it achieved a recovery rate of 83% compared to the same period of 2019.
