More than 39,000 passengers and 10,000 vehicles crossed the Strait of Gibraltar towards Morocco and Ceuta on Saturday, making it the busiest day of this summer’s Operation Marhaba. Algeciras and Tarifa handled 39,006 passengers and 10,056 vehicles as thousands of Moroccans living in Europe travelled home for their summer holidays.
Algeciras processed 29,842 passengers and 8,127 vehicles heading to Ceuta and Tanger Med. Tarifa handled another 9,164 passengers and 1,929 vehicles travelling to Tangier City.
The Tarifa-Tangier City route also recorded its highest-ever number of vehicles carried in a single day.
The first weekend of August is usually the busiest time of Operation Marhaba. Traffic was even heavier this year because some passengers were redirected after the temporary closure of the Beni Ansar border crossing near Nador.
Around 900 vehicles an hour arrived at the Port of Algeciras during the early hours of Saturday. Authorities opened the Llano Amarillo holding area to make room for thousands of vehicles waiting to board ferries.
Dense fog over the Strait of Gibraltar slowed ferry arrivals and departures for much of the morning.
Port authorities introduced several measures to keep traffic moving. Passengers were allowed to use the next available ferry, regardless of the company they had booked with. The high-speed ferry Jaume I was added to the Algeciras-Tanger Med route, while freight trucks were temporarily stopped to give priority to passenger vehicles.
Algeciras handled about 52,000 passengers and 13,700 vehicles on Friday and Saturday combined, confirming its position as the main link between Europe and northern Morocco during the busiest period of Operation Marhaba.
More than 50 ferry crossings were scheduled on Sunday between Algeciras, Ceuta and Tanger Med as heavy traffic continued.
Operation Marhaba runs from mid-June to mid-September and helps millions of Moroccans living abroad return home for the summer. More than 3.2 million passengers and over 750,000 vehicles use the operation every year.
Algeciras handles about 70% to 75% of all passenger and vehicle traffic during the operation. The Algeciras-Tanger Med route is the busiest sea link between Europe and Africa.
The first weekend of August marks the busiest part of the outbound journey, as many European factories and businesses close for the summer, allowing Moroccan families abroad to begin their trips home.
