TRANSPORT
MARRAKECH-MÉNARA AIRPORT
Marrakesh Menara Airport. Source: Unsplash.
Probably the most modern structure in the city and the main international gateway to Marrakech, receives principally flights coming from Rome, Paris, Madrid or London, and many other cities in most European countries. Other routes include Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on a seasonal basis, but of course receives flights from other Arab world countries. Further afield, usually has routes to Casablanca airport, a transfer point to reach other destinations world-wide as South America, The USA, Canada, Asia, and African and Middle eastern countries. The most frequently used Airlines which fly in and out of Marrakech Airport include Easyjet, Vueling, Transavia, Iberia, Royal Air Maroc and Ryanair, being the one that offers most of the flights.
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For passengers, the airport has two terminals, both located in the same complex, without any inconvenient to transfer within.
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Terminal 1. Fully renewed in 2008, it is environmentally friendly since it is partially powered by solar energy. Counts with two levels distinguishing arrivals and departures (Marrakesh-Airport, 2020).
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Terminal 3. This new terminal has been designed to accommodate VIP flights and business trips. It makes arrivals, stopovers, and departures efficient and hassle-free for passengers. In addition, the terminal counts with a police office and customs (Marrakesh-Airport, 2020).
Marrakesh Airport offers the following services to passengers:
The airport is located outside of the city, about 4 miles (20 minutes). Transferring from the airport to downtown there are three main options:​
There are two options. The first one is the shuttle bus (L19 express bus). Tourist can transfer from Marrakech Airport to further destinations within the city such as Hivernage, Bab Doukkala, Jemaa el-Fna, Marrakech Railway Station Gueliz, etc. Its frequency is every 20 minutes from 6.00 am to 11.30 am. Round trip cost is MAD 30.00.
Second options are the city buses. There are available five lines to get to downtown from the airport (11, 12 15,20, and 33). One-way ticket fare is MAD 4.00. (Marrakesh-airport, 2020)
This service is available 24 hours and located immediately outside of both terminals’ arrivals. It takes around 15 minutes up to 30 minutes according to the traffic. The two companies that are at the airport are Marrakech Taxis and Cab Morocco. The fare to tranfer to Marrakech downtown is MAD 70. However, some drivers may be reticent to travel at the rate of MAD 70 so the cost may vary between MAD 150-800 according to bargaining (Civitatis, 2020)
It is a good option to explore freely Morocco. You can find Avis, Europcar, Budget, Hertz, and Sixt. Their services are 24/7. Car rental companies are located in the arrival hall of both terminals.
Prices here depend on the airline, majority low cost, and demand. In general, is affordable traveling to Marrakech. Madrid-Marrakech is usually operated by Ryanair. Round trips are not higher than 100€ in most of the cases (Marralesh-Airport, 2020).
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In this section can be considered the private companies that transfer tourists from the airport to their Riads or Hotels. In general, this service is offered by tourist agencies or easily found on other platforms (Civitatis, Booking, etc)