Marrakech Airport

❎ Not Verified | Cleanliness 10 out of 10. All other staff need to attend a customer services training programme. Not one of the staff knew how to smile. There was no eye contact at all and the staff supposedly in charge of the lines to the passport control booths had no idea and generally caused chaos. It seemed that if you arrived late for your journey you could rush to the front of the queue chat to these members of staff and be allowed to queue jump! Or when these staff were being chatted to people at the back of the queue went under the barriers into the other queue leaving people like myself, who had now stood patiently for an hour, to wait even longer. When it was mentioned to this little man what was happening behind his back he became quite irate with me. Eventually after an hour and a quarter queuing we got through to the seating/food/shopping area, disappointing. Two female airline staff announced the aircraft boarding after sitting and eating their lunch? Again no eye contact as they chatted amongst themselves whilst chewing their gum. Ignorant, arrogant and rude. I don’t think I’ll be going that way ever again.

✅ Trip Verified | Extremely pleased with Marrakech airport, which was very surprising considering awful reviews. I was departing in the evening - around 7 pm - on a Royal Air Maroc flight to Casablanca and continuing to Moscow, so I went through all immigration like it was an international flight. The new terminal is very airy, well-lit, modern but with a Moroccan twist and stylish - loved it. Looks much better than the majority of the airports I've been to. Check-in was in the old terminal, which is seamlessly connected to the new one, and took two minutes, if not less. After check-in you have to proceed to the new terminal for departures, where you have to fill the departure card. The only downside is that there were no pens in sight. I had one, but many people didn't. The staff I interacted with were very friendly and hospitable, as well as efficient - the whole process of getting to the duty free zone took less than 8 minutes! I honestly did not expect that speed at all. The terminal was sparkling clean, with shiny floors, high ceilings and very interesting design all around. Duty free was nothing to write home about, although all Moroccan specialties were there, including very reasonably priced Moroccan wine. You can pay in Moroccan dirhams if the product is of Moroccan origin, so that was very convenient. Wi-Fi is quite fast, and the Priority Pass lounge - if you have access - is really good. Try some freshly squeezed juices, wines and delicious beef tajine while you're there. Since our flight was in an ATR-72, boarding took place via bus, but again, it was on-time, not crowded and very comfortable overall. Honestly, Marrakech airport is one of the best airports I've been to, and while it's not Singapore Changi, it's almost perfect for what it is.

✅ Trip Verified | Superb building, masses of badly managed and disorganised space. Beware! We took heed of reviews and arrived 3 hrs. before flight. Had the airport been busy it would probably not have been enough time. General organization of airport hopeless, direction signing unclear and incomprehensible, lack of co-ordination and procedure. People late for their flights running around red in the face and frantic. Security and subsequent queuing overdone yet haphazard. Showed boarding passes 7, yes - seven times. I always have to be searched. According to other reviews this can be invasive at Marrakech - mine was so cursory as to be pointless. Full body scanners not working. Bottles accidentally left in hand baggage of my companion not picked up. Should you be travelling by EasyJet I suggest booking Speedy Boarding which will shorten the first desperately slow queue to have your boarding pass stamped (has to be done even if you have only have hand baggage). You must then find and fill out an Exit form to give to the Passport Inspector. The airport staff were perfectly nice and helpful except for my Passport Inspector who was carelessly impolite. The Airport Direction is failing the Staff. Doubtless they often have a horrible time with panic-stricken passengers. An item of makeup in Duty Free: price 50% more than in UK. Nasty sandwich 4.80 €. Not enough seating by each flight dep. gate. We were left to stand on the tarmac waiting for our flight with no overhead cover. Luckily it was neither pouring with rain nor 40 degree heat. Concerned about Wi-Fi security so didn't use it. I rate the building itself followed by the cleaners - not much else.

❎ Not Verified | I have been to many airports. The security was very professional. The downside is the airside shops and food outlets, they were expensive as well as unimaginative. The shopping experience was the worst I have ever had in the shops. I felt intimidated by the staff following me around and watching me all the time. I suggest that all levels of staff are retrained.

✅ Trip Verified | Most awful airport experience I have ever had. And I travel a lot. Worst customer service experience I’ve ever had. 10€ minimum everywhere you go. They ask for your boarding pass which is ridiculous. Terrible WiFi. Minimal charging stations. Uncomfortable chairs. Slowest customs I have ever experienced. If I have the choice I will never ever go through this airport again. Absolutely awful from start to finish.

❎ Unverified | After reading so many negative reports on this airport I just wanted to say that my wife and I flew in and out during September with no problems whatsoever. The check in staff at easyJet could not have done more and were polite and efficient as were the security and immigration staff. Prices are a bit steep but that seems to be all airports, the only downside was trying to spend remaining Dirhams airside, it seems that prices are made up on the spot.

I really wasn't looking forward to re-visiting Marrakech airport after our experience last time but my partner talked me into going to Morocco again and I couldn't have been any more happy! The difference this year was superb. My partner uses a wheelchair and we had excellent service from the airport assistance team. We knew we had to fill in a form to enter not a problem, the guy assisting us gave us extra for our return journey. Once that was done we literally sailed through the airport, even the security guards were pleasant to us. I found it helped if you spoke to them in French (please, thank you etc). The assistance guy helped find our transfer coach for us. On the return journey it was just as straightforward, I got searched but it wasn't unpleasant (especially after reading about other people's experiences). The departure lounge was busy but coped well. All in all a vast improvement on last year.

My latest trip took me to 5 different airports, including Marrakech. All airports have their ups and downs, but Marrakech was, by far, the worst airport experience I've ever had. Arrival: The airport is beautiful, and most of the arrival process went smoothly. However, when we presented a $50 bill to be changed into dirham, we were told that our money was too old. As we looked for another bill, the attendant became annoyed (even though no one else was in line) and told us we could change bills at another kiosk just beyond Customs. She lied to get rid of us; no other kiosks existed outside of that area. Departure: We arrived over 3 hours early for our flight, and barely made it to boarding on time. Luckily, our flight arrived late. We had been puzzled when the proprietor at our riad had told us that 3 hours might be enough, but we were about to find out why he said that. You begin by going through security before you walk through the front door. This means that you wait in a long line outside the airport, and undergo a passport check and bag x-ray before you're allowed access. Next comes the line for bag drop, where they will direct you to another line to get permission to get boarding passes before coming back to the original line, again. The rep at the boarding pass counter was not only the worst airline employee I've ever encountered, but possibly the worst person I've ever encountered. She berated us (and everyone else who approached her), called me a liar several times, and finally refused to help at all. It seemed that she regarded all customers as opponents in a battle. After over 20 minutes, another employee came to the window and helped. Next is the line to change over your money, which the law requires you to do. The rep wouldn't change ours, telling us we didn't have enough left and insisting we spend it in the airport. Next, you get to wait in a huge line to get your passports checked. We waited 20 minutes, but it could have been much worse. Next is the line to go through a security check and bag x-ray again. The only plus side is that they don't use the full-body scanners, but that is replaced with the most personal public pat-down you will ever receive. Next up on the agenda is to fill out departure forms before you are allowed through the next checkpoint. Think you're done, now? Nope! One more passport checkpoint before you get to sprint to your flight. Let's play "count the lines": security, bag drop, boarding pass payment, bag drop again, money exchange, passport control, security again, forms, passport check again - a grand total of nine. To be fair, this was my first experience with an airport in Morocco. I have no idea if this convoluted system is in place everywhere, but I would most definitely rather try taking public transport to Casablanca for departure.

✅ Verified Review | Firstly, I’m in a wheelchair, and require the special assistance services at airports if steps need to be climbed / descended. We arrived in Marrakech airport, and was met by the service assistant (smiling all time with moustache) who continually kept telling me about how good he was, and gave us his number to call so he could meet us on our departure. Really wasn’t bothered on meeting him again, but he had to take me from A3 (EasyJet to Manchester 01/06/17) on the ground to the plane. Still all the same chat about how good he was, even followed me onto the plane. Then when I was sat in the window seat, he said to my wife, ‘I want a tip for my young colleague who met you at the EasyJet desk.’ A likely story, but my wife gave him a £5 English note to get rid of him. Maybe someone in Marrakech airport should put a stop to this, as it is bad enough I can’t walk but to be ‘accosted’ for money for the service he is paid for is disgusting.

✅ Verified Review | Marrakech Airport is stressful, inefficient and I do not recommend. When we arrived for our easyJet flight we were told that we had to check in our hand luggage because we were the last to arrive even though it was exactly 2 hours before our flight. The staff behind the desk were practically arguing with me saying we were late. I said I traveled with hand luggage due to the flight times as I wanted to catch the last train home. When we asked how many people were left to check in they said 40! So they clearly lied. When we got on the plane the overhead cabins were empty. We then went through 100 checks of our passport. First was to queue to get our passport checked. The staff didn't even talk to us he just pointed to the landing card station where he wanted us to fill out a landing card. There were no pens made available of course. When he checked our passports we then had them checked again at the beginning of a queue in direct eyesight of the staff who just checked them. We then queued for 15 minutes to have them checked again. The queue took so long because they all had a nice chat to each customer causing further delays moving at a glacial pace. Once that check was done our passports were then checked again to see there was a stamp in the book. Again, in direct eyesight of the desk staff! Absolutely ridiculous. The selection of shops was limited to very high end. The selection of food was limited to sandwiches and cakes that had been left out all day and were very dry. There was one restaurant we could get fresh food in that had the worst service. It's a shame because the airport is absolutely beautiful and modern so you expect a certain level of service but the expectation is certainly not met. I won't be going back to Marrakech. They have ensured their economy will not be benefiting from my money again.