Operation Crossing the Strait: Spain and Morocco expect over 3.5 million passengers to make the trip this year

Héctor Barbotta

Seville

Thursday, 8 May 2025, 17:18

Operation 'Crossing the Strait', which will run from 15 June to 15 September, will this year see an increase of between 4% and 5% in the number of passengers, which means exceeding three and a half million people. These are the estimates for what will be the 36th year of this operation that organises and oversees the passage from mainland Spain to North Africa of migrants resident in Europe as they return to their countries of origin to enjoy their summer holidays.

These forecasts, outlined at a meeting of government officials from both countries held this Wednesday in Cadiz, anticipate 12,012 turnarounds of transport vessels, some 8.4% more than the previous year, according to Spain's Ministry of the Interior.

The meeting served to coordinate the arrangements prepared by both countries to manage the flow of movements between the two continents, which in Spain's case is included in the country's 'special civil protection plan' that, in turn, sets out the details of the operation being drawn up by Spain and Morocco.

This special plan has three main objectives: to assist Maghrebi citizens with whatever they need during their journey through Spain, to achieve good traffic flows on national roads and to reduce waiting times at all ports of embarkation.

The operation involves the participation of 20 different entities across central, regional and local governments and associated agencies. It involves nine seaports: Melilla, Ceuta, Valencia, Algeciras, Almeria, Motril, Malaga, Tarifa and Alicante. They are joined by over 29,000 people belonging to state security forces and border control, health workers and volunteers from the Red Cross, social workers and translators.

Those attending the meeting predicted a 5% increase in the number of vehicles that will travel somewhere in Spain this year as part of this year's operation compared to last year, when 847,429 vehicles were recorded. They also predict 4% more passengers, who numbered 3,442,770 in 2024.

Operation Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar (OPE in Spanish) has been running since 1986 and manages the outward and return transit of North Africans travelling from several European countries to North Africa during the summer season. It is the largest operation of its kind in Europe and one of the most important in the world.

OPE 2025 will begin on 15 June and will be active until 15 September. As in previous years, it will include an initial departure phase and a subsequent return phase. At the meeting held this Wednesday, the undersecretary for Spain's Ministry of the Interior, Susana Crisóstomo, said that the OPE is "an example of good coordination between neighbouring countries and of the great preparatory work of our technical teams."