Massive Traffic Jams Expected as Morocco-Spain Border Reopens for Summer Travel

More than three million Moroccans from Europe and more than 760,000 vehicles are expected for this Marhaba Operation 2022 which takes place from June 15 to September 15. But a situation risks disrupting the smooth running of the operation. This is the requirement to buy tickets online before entering the port of Algeciras, the busiest port during the Operation, according to El Español.

The Association of Friends of the Moroccan People (ITRAN) denounces this obligation made to MREs to buy tickets in advance, fearing long lines of vehicles that will obstruct the highways to the beaches. For the Association, very few Moroccans in Europe use the Internet tool, for fear of being "scammed". "Imagine that in the middle of the countryside, millions of people come down. This could trigger a human tragedy with incalculable consequences," warns ITRAN.

The association also deplores the lack of "scruples" of the shipping companies which prefer to sell the tickets themselves rather than entrusting them to travel agencies. As a result, there are fewer points of sale and more expensive tickets, which risks leading to 50-kilometer long queues. According to Mohamed Alami Susi, the president of the NGO, this situation could prevent "hundreds of thousands of people" from returning home or moving freely to do shopping.

At the port of Tarifa, passengers complain about the high prices of tickets. "A round trip Tarifa-Tangier City costs 413 euros for one person in a car," informs a former Spanish diplomat. Alami Susi specifies for his part that "the tickets for four people in a car to Tangier are 550 euros, and to Ceuta 350 euros, but the companies have already announced that prices will skyrocket at the end of the month". This is why he is calling on the Spanish and Moroccan governments to find a solution.

Ceuta and Melilla are also included in the Marhaba Operation 2022. Rabat has instructed the Customs to grant facilities to the MREs returning to the kingdom as part of the Operation so that they can enter the kingdom with goods not exceeding a value of 2,000 euros.