easyJet spreads its wings: LCC names Marrakech as first ever African base
October 15, 2025
easyJet’s three-aircraft base at Marrakech Menara Airport (RAK) signals ambitious growth plans in Morocco for the low-cost carrier.
While easyJet has been serving airports in Morocco for 20 years, the agreement with the Moroccan National Tourism Office to open a base at RAK marks the airline’s first such hub on the African continent.
Marrakech Menara is the second largest airport in Morocco, while Casablanca’s Mohammed V Airport is the largest.
easyJet plans to offer 4 million seats from Marrakech in its first year
easyJet’s base at Marrakech will enable the low-cost carrier (LCC) to offer 4 million seats in the first year of the base opening. It will also boost socio-economic growth in the country through the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
As of this year, easyJet currently operates at five airports in Morocco and already flies from the UK to Marrakech from eight European hubs, including Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, London Gatwick, Luton and Southend.
In addition to Marrakech, the airline serves Agadir, Rabat, Essaouira and Tangier in Morocco.
easyJet takes on Ryanair with Marrakech base
According to easyJet, the launch of the base in summer 2026 will cement the LCC’s position as the number two airline in Marrakech. The Flightsfrom.com website indicates that fellow budget carrier Ryanair, which also has a base at RAK, operates the most flights (around 190 scheduled weekly departures) from the Moroccan hub.
It has not been confirmed which aircraft will be based at Marrakech; however, given easyJet currently operates a fleet of over 350 Airbus aircraft, including A319s, A320s, A320neos and A321neos and is actively shifting capacity towards larger, more efficient aircraft, it is plausible the aircraft based at Marrakech will be A320neos or A321neos.
To complement the announcement of its first African base, easyJet also announced four new routes to Morocco from next summer – from Marrakech to Hamburg, Lille and Strasbourg and from Tangier to Geneva. These additional links will bring the total number of easyJet routes to Morocco to 46.
“There is no doubt Morocco is a key market for easyJet: we are the largest carrier to Morocco from the UK and from Switzerland, Morocco is our fastest growing market outside Europe and a major destination for our easyJet holidays customers,” said Kenton Jarvis, CEO of easyJet.
“With this new development and the launch of our base in Marrakech, we will expand our leisure and business offer to Morocco from more destinations across Europe than ever before,” he continued.
easyJet eyes growth in sub-Saharan Africa
Over the 20 years it has operated in Morocco, easyJet has flown around 20 million customers to and from the North African country. In addition to enabling the expansion of routes to Morocco, the base will allow the LCC to unlock capacity and offer new destinations at constrained airports across Europe.
easyJet is experiencing strong operational momentum in 2025. The airline launched 26 new routes over the summer season with an emphasis on mid-haul leisure routes, including its first-ever sub-Saharan Africa connections. The highlight of these new routes was the introduction of flights to the island of Sal in Cape Verde, which began on 31 March 2025.
The expansion of easyJet’s presence in Africa will not only attract a new range of travellers, but it will also position the airline as a frontrunner in providing budget travel in a rapidly developing market.
