As one of three new FBOs that are to be built from scratch, he sees the Marrakech facility as the likely bellwether of Jetex's Morocco fortunes. "We opened a temporary facility at Marrakech in 2016," he told AIN in an interview earlier this year. In Casablanca, along with a complex provided by the Moroccan Airports Authority (ONDA) in the capital Rabat, Jetex opened an already constructed facility after its refurbishment. The Marrakech facility is expected to open in the third quarter of 2019.
Of Jetex’s five FBO locations, Rabat is Morocco’s diplomatic capital, while Casablanca is the business capital. Marrakech, Agadir, and Dakhla are aimed at leisure travelers. A good deal of construction is taking place in Marrakech, and people who used to come for leisure are often focusing on projects there.
Jetex inherited a building in Casablanca from ONDA and now shares it with Swissport Maroc SA, which signed up, alongside Jetex, to develop four FBOs in Morocco, at Casablanca, Marrakech, Rabat, Tangier.
“Jetex…first came [into Morocco] in Casablanca,” he said. “The FBO site was already in existence. Our site is a bit small but can handle 16 to 18 people. At Jetex’s Casablanca FBO, there is a VIP lounge, as well as an operations office. Six people work there 24/7. There are also a crew lounge and limousine services. We opened a temporary facility at Marrakech in 2016, but we have been building a new facility for two years now there, expected to open before the end of 2019.”
When compared to Dubai, which has 140 five-star hotels, according to booking.com, Marrakech, with only 55, is not quite in the same league. However, the resort is regarded as Morocco's upmarket tourism Mecca. Pitaresi said the resort accounted for almost 50 percent of Morocco's 8,000-10,000 bizjet movements in 2018, up from 40 percent in 2016. Rabat is a diplomatic hotspot for government aircraft.
President and CEO, Adel Mardini told AIN there was a need for a higher-level VIP service in Morocco, a gap Jetex came in to fill. Services were being provided by local supervisory companies who contracted the work to commercial airlines. “The creation of an FBO and the provision of a high-quality service have encouraged the registration of more private jets in the country. We expect the number of registered aircraft to increase even more when we open the new facility in Marrakech,” Mardini said.
