On Tuesday, an Air Arabia aircraft from Amsterdam in the Netherlands landed at Tétouan-Saniat R'mel international airport, marking the first direct flight linking the two cities. After landing, the Airbus A320 operating the inaugural direct flight, carrying 176 passengers primarily members of the Moroccan community in the Netherlands, was greeted with a traditional «water salute» under an arch formed by projected water jets. Tetouan airport manager Limouni Hassan, in a statement to MAP, stressed that this new route between Tetouan and Amsterdam, with two flights a week, will help to reinforce the dynamic growth in air traffic that Tetouan airport has experienced in recent years. Limouni noted that Tetouan airport is now connected to nine European destinations, including Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Malaga, Alicante, Marseille, Brussels, Charleroi, and Amsterdam. He also mentioned an upcoming new link with Bilbao expected to be inaugurated by the end of the month. The official further noted that Tetouan airport, which welcomed 253,552 passengers in 2023, up 35% year-on-year, expects to welcome more than 300,000 passengers this year thanks to these new connections. He added that some 31,000 passengers were welcomed by the airport last April, a 32% increase compared to April 2023. To keep pace with this significant increase in air traffic, the Office National des Aéroports (ONDA) launched a major development and expansion project at Tetouan airport. The first phase was completed in June 2023 with the commissioning of the new runway, which can accommodate large aircraft under improved safety conditions, as well as a parking area for up to five medium-sized aircraft. The second phase of this project, launched last March, includes the construction of a new air terminal with a capacity of 900,000 passengers per year, as well as a new control tower.
