Expected return of passenger traffic between Spain and Morocco has a date

Algeciras, Spain (PortSEurope) April 12, 2022 - Today the maritime ferry routes between the ports of Algeciras and Tangier-Med and between Tarifa and the city of Tangier will resume with trips exclusively for passengers on both routes (except buses). As of Monday, April 18, traffic will also restart for private vehicles between these four ports. This information was announced by Autoridad Portuaria de la Bahía de Algeciras (APBA - Port Authority of Algeciras). These trips are part of Operation Crossing the Strait for 2022 (OPE - Operation Paso del Estrecho). OPE started 1986 and usually takes place between June 15 and September 15. In 2019, 3.34 million passengers and 760,215 vehicles took part. These are mainly Moroccans working in Europe taking holidays at home. The return of commercial trips between the two countries is possible after the recent normalization of diplomatic relations between Spain and Morocco, which resulted with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's visit to Morocco to meet with King Mohamed VI. A year-long diplomatic crisis ended after Madrid reversed decades of neutrality on the Western Sahara conflict in a U-turn that has angered Morocco's neighbour Algeria. Three Spanish companies, FRS, Balearia and Tranmediterránea, and two Moroccan companies, Intershiping and AML, will operate from the port of Algeciras. FRS and Intershiping usually work from Tarifa, but the latter will only start operating from next week. Most of the travellers between the two shores pass through the ports of the two Cadiz cities. In addition, from the Port of Almería, the Balearia and Trasmeditarránea companies make the connection with Nador and Melilla with crossings that usually last between seven and eight hours. In Almeria, the port authorities are expected to indicate the date on which passenger travel will resume this Tuesday. The route between Algeciras and Ceuta is still fully operational, although the border from Ceuta to Morocco (Tarajal) remains closed, so it is not currently an available route to cross into the neighbouring country. The resumption of the commercial routes after more than two years will also allow the organization of the Operation Crossing the Strait for 2022 (OPE). It will be the first since , the first to be held since the outbreak of the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis. The operation was suspended in 2020 as a result of the pandemic and was not resumed in 2021, when Morocco kept its borders with Spain closed. However, Morocco did resume the operation from other European countries, such as Italy (Genoa), Portugal and France (Sete). Operation Crossing the Strait started 1986 and usually takes place between June 15 and September 15. In 2019, 3.34 million passengers and 760,215 vehicles took part. These are mainly Moroccans working in Europe taking holidays at home. Copyright (C) PortSEurope. All Rights Reserved. 2022.

Expected return of passenger traffic between Spain and Morocco has a date

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Expected return of passenger traffic between Spain and Morocco has a date

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Reference: Russian occupation of neighbours’ territory

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