More than 646,000 travelers cross from Spain to Morocco in first month of Operation Marhaba

More than 646,000 passengers and 160,000 vehicles have crossed from Spain to Morocco during the first month of Operation Marhaba 2026, with traffic remaining smooth despite the rollout of the European Union's new Entry/Exit System (EES), according to numbers shared Thursday by Spain's Interior Ministry.

Between June 15 and July 15, a total of 646,121 passengers and 160,698 vehicles crossed the Strait of Gibraltar on 2,220 ferry sailings. Passenger traffic was down 4.9% year-on-year, while vehicle traffic fell 4.4% and ferry rotations decreased 6.3%.

The Algeciras-Tangier Med route remained the busiest, handling 250,504 passengers and 75,700 vehicles, followed by Tarifa-Tangier Ville with 115,880 passengers and 16,904 vehicles. Algeciras remained the busiest departure port overall, with 357,590 passengers and 100,047 vehicles, ahead of Almería and Tarifa, which each processed around 115,000 passengers.

The Spanish Interior Ministry said the operation has proceeded without major incidents or delays despite this being the first year of the mandatory implementation of the EES, which replaces passport stamping with the digital registration of biometric data for non-EU travelers. Spanish authorities attributed the smooth rollout to close coordination with their Moroccan counterparts.

During the first month of the operation, port assistance services provided 386 medical interventions and 2,993 social assistance services. Operation Marhaba 2026, which runs until September 15, is coordinated by Spain's General Secretariat for Civil Protection and Emergencies in cooperation with Moroccan authorities and other agencies.