Morocco has reported an increase of almost 15 per cent in passenger traffic at its airports in September, compared with the same month last year.

A total of 1,569,708 passengers passed through the country’s airports last month, with Casablanca’s Mohammed V airport being the busiest with a total of 730,624 passengers.

Marrakech-Menara airport saw the largest increase in passenger numbers, rising by 19 per cent to reach 340,472 in September, compared with the same month in 2012, according to Morocco’s airport authority ONDA.

The growth in domestic aviation outstripped the increase in international travel, with an increase of 27 per cent in internal flights compared to 13.5 per cent in international flights.

The European market continues to account for three-quarters of the traffic, with volumes rising by 13.8 per cent compared with last September. The growth in this market suggests the impact of the eurozone crisis and the uncertainty surrounding the Arab unrest on Morocco’s aviation sector is reducing.

The rest of North Africa is the biggest growth market for Morocco, with traffic up by 24 per cent. Passenger numbers from the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa increased by 9 per cent. Freight traffic increased in September, but by a far lower rate of 3 per cent, compared with passenger traffic.

Morocco’s aviation sector has benefited from the open-skies agreement it signed with the EU in 2006. Almost 50 airlines operate flights to the country, with a significant proportion consisting of low-cost carriers.