Fes airport handles nearly 940,000 passengers in first half of 2026

Thursday 13 - 10:45

By: Sahili Aya

Fes airport handles nearly 940,000 passengers in first half of 2026

Fes-Saïss Airport handled more than 935,000 passengers during the first six months of 2026, maintaining traffic close to the level recorded a year earlier despite a slight decline in overall activity.

According to the latest figures from Morocco’s National Airports Office (ONDA), the airport processed 935,382 passengers between January and June, compared with 937,427 during the same period in 2025. The difference represents a marginal year-on-year decrease of 0.22%.

The figures point to a relatively stable first half for one of Morocco’s key regional airports, even as national air traffic continued to expand.

June provides a stronger signal

While the first-half total was broadly unchanged, June delivered a noticeably more positive performance.

Fes-Saïss Airport welcomed 162,719 passengers during the month, up from 155,639 in June 2025. Passenger traffic consequently increased by 4.55% year on year.

The June rebound suggests that demand for flights serving Fes strengthened as the summer travel period approached. The monthly increase also helped limit the impact of weaker traffic recorded earlier in the year.

Aircraft activity followed a similar pattern.

The airport recorded 1,111 aircraft movements in June, compared with 1,065 a year earlier, an increase of 4.32%.

Aircraft movements remain slightly lower overall

Despite the improvement in June, aircraft movements across the first six months remained below last year's level.

Fes-Saïss recorded 6,276 aircraft movements from January through June 2026, compared with 6,380 during the corresponding period of 2025. This represents a decline of 1.63%.

The combination of broadly stable passenger numbers and fewer aircraft movements indicates that traffic volumes have remained resilient even without a corresponding increase in the number of flights.

Morocco's airports continue to grow

Fes' relatively stable performance contrasts with a stronger national trend.

Across Morocco, airports handled 18.83 million passengers in the first half of 2026, compared with 17.30 million during the same period a year earlier. National passenger traffic therefore rose by 8.83%.

The figures underline the continued expansion of Morocco's air transport market, driven by growing international connectivity and sustained demand for travel to the kingdom.

Against that backdrop, Fes-Saïss has not matched the national growth rate during the first half of the year. However, the airport's near-million-passenger performance and the acceleration recorded in June point to a market that remains robust.

For Fes, the coming summer months will be closely watched as the city enters a traditionally important period for tourism and international travel. If June's momentum continues, the airport could regain stronger growth in the second half of 2026.