Jet2 has announced major expansion plans to Morocco, offering year-round access to the North African country from several major UK airports. The first flights were waved off on Thursday, October 3.
The company marked the start of flights and holidays to the coastal resort of Agadir with busy flights taking off from four UK airports: Birmingham, Leeds Bradford, London Stansted and Manchester. Services to Agadir will also be launched over the next few weeks from Bristol (October 6) and Glasgow (November 3).
Operations were also expanded from Friday (October 4) when their new flights and holiday programmes started operating to Marrakech from Birmingham, Manchester and London Stansted.
The companies will also launch their Marrakech programme from Glasgow on November 4.
“This new programme of flights and holidays to Morocco has been launched in response to demand from customers and independent travel agents who are seeking new cultural destinations as well as guaranteed sunshine,” Jet2 revealed.
Agadir is home to a wide range of hotels, waterparks and incredible bars and restaurants, as well as a over five-mile stretch of sand along the country’s west coast. Customers headed to Marrakech will enjoy the city’s labyrinth streets winding through iconic terracotta architecture. The city’s electric atmosphere comes to life at night as locals and tourists wander through the world-famous Jemaa el-Fnaa square.
Routes are on sale from six UK airports through to winter of 2025-26 as part of the expanded programme. After that, Jet2 will increase to eight airports for summer 2026 with the addition of weekly flights to Agadir from East Midlands and Newcastle airports.
Jet2 Chief Executive Steve Heapy said: “With the weather in the UK taking another turn for the worse, we are delighted to be taking customers to the sunshine thanks to our new programme of flights and holidays to Agadir and Marrakech in Morocco.
“The addition of flights and packages to these stunning destinations give customers and independent travel agents plenty of choice and flexibility to explore Morocco as a year-round destination, and they are proving to be incredibly popular.
“Agadir and Marrakech are packed with beauty and culture with something around every corner, and with fantastic sunshine on top of all this, we know this new programme will be a huge hit.”
Jet2’s new expansion plans have been met with concern by the tourism industry in Majorca as the plans come at a time when UK tourism in the Balearic Island is falling. It comes amid warnings from the European travel industry privately stating: “be careful what you wish for,” regarding residents wanting fewer tourists to Majorca.
One major concern is the fact that Morocco is considered a year-round holiday destination with plenty of winter flights from the UK, unlike Majorca at present.
British tourism to the Balearics fell by 10 percent in July and just under five percent in August, with one veteran local hotelier telling the Majorca Daily Bulletin: “Our loss could be Morocco’s gain.”
Other British tour operators have also expanded their programme to Morocco. It was reported last summer that one major European travel firm was considering sending tourists to Morocco if Majorca was “over-saturated”.