Nearly 650 experts and professionals take part in the 19th Connect forum
Promotion
This unmissable event on the aviation agenda highlights the many advantages offered by Morocco’s airports in terms of capacity, quality of service as well as all structuring projects, in particular those related to digitalization.
Considered one of the tourist destinations of choice, the city of the strait has been chosen to host the 19th edition of the Connect Route Development Forum, whose work has just opened on Wednesday February 22, with the participation of some 650 experts and aviation industry professionals representing over 60 countries.
After being held in 2014 in Marrakech, this three-day event is back in the city of the strait to, according to the organizers, highlight the many advantages offered by Morocco’s airports in terms of capacity, quality of service as well as all structuring projects, in particular those related to digitization. “Our participation in this event is part of the implementation of ONDA’s strategic guidelines for the development of connectivity at Morocco’s airports. This forum thus represents a favorable opportunity for the promotion of our airports”, indicated Habiba Laklalech, Director General of the National Office of Airports (ONDA).
The Moroccan airport network, she said, currently offers a capacity of 39 million passengers per year and is set to develop even more. “Air transport in Morocco began to recover its activity as soon as the borders reopened, passengers quickly rediscovered the taste for travel and as professionals, we are happy to welcome them back to our airports and on our planes”, she let know.
The experience of the two years of Covid, recalled Ms. Laklalech, demonstrated how important it is today to reinvent services and work closely together to meet the new needs and expectations of passengers. The speaker continued that since the signing of the Open Sky agreement with the European Union in 2006, ONDA has implemented an ambitious program to increase airport capacity, giving particular importance to quality of service and safety and security requirements. “This ambitious program has enabled us to modernize our airports and increase their capacity, from 24 million passengers in 2013 to 39 million today,” said Ms. Laklalech, noting that on the horizon 2030, “we will reach an airport capacity of around 60 million passengers”.
This unmissable event on the air travel agenda, of which the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT), ONDA and the Regional Tourism Council (CRT) of Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima are partners, was able to attract precisely representatives of airports and airlines, tourism professionals, tour operators and tourism authorities from more than 60 countries.
“This is a great moment and also a new opportunity to strengthen the air component which remains one of the main levers for the development of the tourism sector”, said Adel El Fakir, director general of the ONMT, before d add that through such an event which brings together the family of global air transport and travel, “we expect to further reference Morocco with airlines in order to increase and diversify the air service to Morocco and the whole of its destinations.
The data communicated on this occasion show that at the end of 2022, the programming of Morocco by the airlines exceeded the pre-health crisis level. The seat capacity target, projected for the current year, is 8.2 million. To achieve this, several agreements and partnerships have recently been signed between the ONMT and airlines. On February 15, the ONMT notably opened, in partnership with 10 airlines, 35 new airlines serving 8 Moroccan destinations for the 2023 summer season.