Air Arabia opens new air base at Tetouan Airport

The airline Air Arabia inaugurated a new air base at Saniat R’mel Airport in Tetouan on Tuesday. The ceremony for this purpose took place in the presence of the Wali of the Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma region, Younes Tazi, the general director of Air Arabia Maroc, Laila Mechbal, and the airport director Saniat R’mel, Hassan Limouni, the commander of Tangier Ibn Batouta Airport, Mohamed Bahaj, representatives of the National Airports Office (ONDA) and the Tetouan Provincial Tourism Council, as well as various stakeholders.

During her speech, Laila Mechbal emphasized the importance of this expansion of the Air Arabia network, marked by the introduction of 13 direct flights to five European destinations, namely Amsterdam, Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Malaga and Brussels. The city is indeed experiencing a growing tourist attraction, especially given its proximity to Chefchaouen, she noted in a statement to the press, welcoming this opening, which constitutes the company’s sixth air base in Morocco.

For his part, the Director of ONDA’s Marketing and Commercial Department, Youssef Bennani, confirmed that this new base responds to the growing demand in the field of air traffic, recalling that Saniat R’mel Airport welcomed 253,552 passengers in 2023 , an increase of 35%. compared to a year earlier (187,842 passengers).

For his part, the President of the Provincial Council of Tourism of Tetouan, Moncef Al-Toub, welcomed the inauguration of this base, which will have a positive impact on the tourist and commercial markets of the province, emphasizing the importance of the new lines that connect the region. Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga to Tetouan in terms of promoting local economic dynamism.

Saniat R’mel Airport, located 7 km from the city of Tetouan, exceeded the milestone of 100,000 passengers for the first time on August 25, 2022.

The airport has started to diversify its air offering with several companies and airlines, namely Royal Air Maroc (Casablanca, Al Hoceîma), Tui Fly (Brussels), Ryanair (Malaga, Alicante, Madrid, Marseille, Seville, Charleroi), Air Arabia (Malaga , Madrid, Brussels, Barcelona and soon Amsterdam), and in high season Air Nostrum (Malaga).