Almería Port Ready for Moroccan Travelers Despite Exclusion from Marhaba Operation

The port of Almería has made itself beautiful to welcome Moroccans residing abroad (MREs) as part of the holding of the Marhaba Operation 2021. As every year, renovation and maintenance work on the port has been carried out, in anticipation of the possible opening of the Moroccan borders, reports El Estrecho Digital which specifies that at the beginning of the year, an internal commission had been set up and had held meetings with shipping companies and institutions to prepare the Transit Operation.

"We had the hope that in one way or another, the OPE would be carried out this year. But with the argument they have put forward - the health crisis - we have no choice but to accept it and hope that at least when the passengers return to Europe, they will be able to do so through our port," said Jesús Caicedo, the president of the Port Authority of Almería (APA), assuring that the port is ready to welcome the MREs, in compliance with the health protocol in force to fight against Covid-19.

According to the president of the APA, the cancellation of the Marhaba Operation 2021 will affect the annual balance of passenger traffic at the port of Almería, the second largest port in Spain through which a significant number of MREs transit each summer. In 2019, more than 580,000 passengers (4.2% more than in 2018) and more than 130,000 vehicles (6.8% more) transited through this port, which represents more than 60% of the annual passenger and vehicle traffic of the port.