Air Arabia Maroc Celebrates 500,000th Passenger on Montpellier-Fez Route, Expands Morocco Connections

Since 2010, Air Arabia Maroc and Montpellier Airport have been working in perfect collaboration. And the results are there. On Monday, the low-cost carrier recorded its 500,000th passenger on the Montpellier-Fez route, opened in October 2010, reports Midi Libre. In total, five routes have been opened between the Fréjorques platform and the cities of Casablanca, Nador, Fez, then Oujda and Tangier (since this summer). In total, 1.5 million travelers have been transported. The generated traffic - impacted by Covid-19 - has been multiplied by five.

"We started with Casablanca-Marseille, but most of the passengers were from Languedoc," recalled Laïla Mechbaln, CEO of Air Arabia Maroc. Out of the sixteen companies welcomed, "Air Arabia is one of our strongest partners," says Emmanuel Brehmer, chairman of the executive board of Montpellier/Méditerranée Airport. The success of this partnership is explained by the "lowest possible touch costs" offered by the low-cost carrier, but also the strong presence of the Moroccan community throughout the region. The 500,000th passenger on the Montpellier-Fez line is moreover a Lodève entrepreneur of Moroccan origin, Mohamed Karkhour.

Over the years, the Fréjorques platform has become the third European hub of Air Arabia Maroc behind Brussels and Barcelona, the first on a French scale. Buoyed by this great success, the two parties intend to go further. A rotation to Marrakech is about to be proposed. "We are finalizing, we are waiting for the right time," confirms Laïla Mechbal. "It’s a good idea," adds Emmanuel Brehmer. The Moroccan company has also expressed its desire to be "more present", "to open more routes" with Montpellier.