Air Transport: Casablanca Accelerates Its Global Ambitions as Spanish Press Voices Concern Over Morocco’s Future Mega-Hub
As the 2030 World Cup approaches — which Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal — the rapid growth of Morocco’s air transport sector is drawing increasing attention across the Strait. The Spanish daily ABC highlights in particular Casablanca’s accelerated transformation into a future intercontinental hub, driven by the expansion of Royal Air Maroc and, above all, by the new terminal at Mohammed V Airport, presented as the cornerstone of this strategy.
According to the Madrid-based newspaper, the project goes far beyond a simple infrastructure upgrade. The new terminal, designed to double the airport’s capacity to around 30 million passengers annually, is part of a broader logistical vision aimed at repositioning the Kingdom as a major crossroads between Africa, Europe, and the Americas. From Madrid’s perspective, this rise could eventually compete directly with the historic influence of Madrid-Barajas, long dominant in air flows linking Africa to the American continent.
The Spanish media outlet notes that this shift is supported by a strategic program agreed between the Moroccan State and Royal Air Maroc covering the 2023–2037 period. The stated objective is ambitious: expanding the national fleet to nearly 200 aircraft and serving around 150 destinations. This growth is expected to feed the Casablanca hub with international connections, strengthening its role as a global transit platform.
The Iberian press also emphasizes the Moroccan airline’s transatlantic push. Already operating routes to several major North American cities, it plans to further expand westward and into Latin America in order to capture a share of traffic currently concentrated in European hubs. This strategy would reportedly be backed by a large-scale aeronautical tender potentially involving manufacturers Boeing and Airbus.
For ABC, the combination of fleet expansion and the opening of the new terminal makes Casablanca a credible competitor on the global air transport map. Seen from Spain, this is no longer merely sectoral catch-up, but a structured geostrategic repositioning, accelerated by the showcase effect of the 2030 World Cup and likely to reshape air traffic balances in the western Mediterranean.
Editorial team/le7tv
