Marrakech Airport

Arrival and immigration is a bit on the old-fashioned side but effective. If travelling from the UK don't change money before arriving as the rate at the banks at Marrakech Airport are much more competitive than at Gatwick. You can probably find a slightly better rate in town but it's nice to have a few Dirham in your pocket before reaching the Medina. We had a minor problem with our boarding pass on leaving which we put down to the boarding passes being handwritten and the check-in desk staff forgetting to write down all the relevant details. Family who have just returned from an even more recent trip using the same airline report that they had ordinary printed boarding passes. It's possible that our problem was specific to that day or that new procedures have just been introduced. Airside is one of the older parts of the airport and looks a little tired. There can also be a mad scrum for the gates as (or just before) boarding is announced. The 'standard' duty free shops were slightly better than anticipated but food drink and reading material options are poor. Summed up renovations have helped improve the airport and the overall experience was positive with smooth straightforward multilingual service (though we speak French which doesn't hurt) in a relatively uncrowded environment. Individual subsections however could still do with some sprucing up.

All the flights in to Marrakech we have taken in the past 18 months have been on time and we were amazed how quickly we got through passport control and customs. There are major renovations in progress so we always travel out of peak season and mid day which helps. The airport is spotless and staff friendly.

Impressive architecture from the outside. Customs and security were very efficient both on arrival and departure. Straight through security and immigration took around 5-10min. Terminal is cool clean and calm. Good selection of shops at reasonable prices for last-minute souvenir shopping. Several cafe's at reasonable prices. Beware though that Taxi's into Marrakech try to exploit tourists. They should cost around 60 dh (£5) but they tried to charge me 150 managed to get them down to 100. Make sure you bargain them down and agree a price before you get in the taxi.

Awfully slow and frustrating. Passport control took almost an hour and so our and other flights were being delayed as so many passengers were stuck in the queue. The check in desk closed half way through check in when the clerk walked with no explanation. They didn't advise us so after a while we asked if someone was coming back. No they were not so we then had to re-queue at another desk. Baggage security check was also chaos and the attendent rude - throwing our bags into the Xray scanner before we could close it! Felt the taxis were a rip off at 200 Dirhams for a 15 minute ride from our hotel by the medina. They won't let you use your last Dirhams in the airport shops so you then have to take them home and convert back at a terrible rate loosing maybe 25% of the value. Allow plenty of time and patience.

When the redevelopment is complete the external vista of this airport will be staggering. It suggests a far grander scale than it has on the inside. The check ins did suffer problems when we were there. Staffing not a problem and the small lounge we used had a range of alcoholic drinks for a short stay and local nibbles.

In mid-december 2007 the new building was nearly complete and looks great. Was good to have police outside the building only allowing travellers in to the airport thus stopping the haggling typically received everywhere else in the country. Queues were short and customs quick. As stated by others Dirhams are not accepted in the terminal shops though we even had success shopping with Pounds!

A small terminal undergoing refurbishment which will be good when its finished. Cleaner than any terminal I have flown from in the UK toilets were spotless which was commented on by my fellow passengers. There were quite long lines at immigration but they went down quickly. I was also surprised you could not spend your remaining local currency at Duty free. Cafe's were fairly priced and accepted local currency.

There is a lounge for Business class passengers - it's the Royal Air Maroc one airside - BA passengers can use it. Not much there - free booze and the foulest soft drinks I've ever encountered but comfortable. The airport in general is OK and would be a lot better if Immigration/Emigration had machines that read your passport rather than having to type in information but delays are nowhere near as bad as say Dubai. Note you can't buy things with Moroccan currency airside - all prices are in Euros. The new Terminal will open in 2008.

Terminal 1 was fine and with only two other flights due to leave around the time of our departure we found it pleasant and welcoming. What a joy to see just two happy policemen sat outside in the sun and within the terminal none of the stresses to be found nowadays in European airports.

Marrakech airport at the one and only time we used it was undergoing an upgrade. There was no business lounge for passengers flying business or first class and no provisions for these passengers. We were told by the staff at the duty free shop that we could purchase alcohol from them and take it into Europe as they would put it in a clear plastic bag and that would be okay at Madrid. It wasn't and our 2 bottles were seized. We were not impressed.