Abdessamad Kayouh, Transport Minister: career, record and what changes for your journeys
Reappointed on 16 October 2026, Abdessamad Kayouh runs the ministry that authorises summer flights and builds the ferry fleet plan. His career, two years of projects in figures, and what changes for Moroccans abroad: Marhaba 2026, 2,403 weekly flights, fares.
20 July 2026, halfway through Operation Marhaba. The counters show 1,862,609 Moroccans from abroad entering Morocco since 10 June. 923,968 came by sea, 938,641 by air. Almost exactly half and half. The Tangier Med ferry and the flight to Nador now carry the same weight in the diaspora's summer.
Both depend on the same man. On Friday 16 October 2026, Abdessamad Kayouh was reappointed Minister of Transport and Logistics in the government of Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri. His ministry authorises airlines and their summer flights, builds the ferry fleet plan with shipowners and monitors crossing prices. For a Moroccan abroad, it is the ministry of the journey home.
Key points
- •Born on 11 April 1966 in Oulad Teima, in Taroudant province, a graduate in international trade and former head of a citrus export company.
- •Transport Minister since 23 October 2024, reappointed on 16 October 2026. He was Minister of Handicrafts in 2012 and 2013.
- •Marhaba 2026 welcomed 4,137,594 Moroccans from abroad, up 1.8%.
- •Summer 2026 counted 2,403 flights a week, 55% more than the previous summer, according to the minister.
- •His major projects: doubling airport capacity to 80 million passengers by 2030, the Kenitra-Marrakech high-speed line and rebuilding a national merchant fleet.
From citrus to parliament
Abdessamad Kayouh grew up in Oulad Teima, on the Souss plain, in a family of landowners and traders. Six children, and a father, Haj Ali Qaiouh, who sat in parliament from 1977. The son learned "the basics of agriculture" at a young age, Aujourd'hui le Maroc wrote in a 2012 profile.
He took his baccalaureate in Agadir in 1986, then went to Casablanca for a diploma in international trade, obtained in 1988. He immediately joined the family business. In 1992 he became managing director of a company specialising in citrus fruit for export. In the mid-1990s he trained in farm management abroad. He later added a master's degree in political science.
In 1997, at 31, he entered parliament as a member for Taroudant. From 2003 to 2009 he chaired the Taroudant Provincial Council. On 3 January 2012 he was appointed Minister of Handicrafts, a post he held until July 2013.
Brasília, March 2018
On 21 March 2018, at the Federal Senate of Brazil, a vice-president of Morocco's House of Councillors addressed the foreign affairs committee, a Moroccan flag behind him. Abdessamad Kayouh was leading a delegation to the 8th World Water Forum. The same day, he signed a cooperation memorandum between the two chambers with the president of the Brazilian Senate. That visit produced the only freely licensed photos of the minister, including the one in this article.
Six years later, on 23 October 2024, he joined the government as Minister of Transport and Logistics. Two years on, he has been reappointed.
Two years of transport in figures
Air first. "Thanks to the Airports 2030 policy, driven by the Sovereign, Morocco's capacity will rise from 40 million passengers today to 80 million by 2030," he told Le360 in April 2026. The programme costs 38 billion dirhams. In Casablanca, a new terminal awarded in January 2025 for around 12.8 billion is due in 2029, with a high-speed rail station inside the airport.
Royal Air Maroc is following. Its programme contract with the State plans around 200 aircraft in 2037, against 55 in June 2025. The minister announced 71 aircraft for 2026. A tender covers 188 aircraft; no firm order had been announced by mid-October 2026.
Aviation safety. "We have gone from a compliance rate of 67% to nearly 87% in civil aviation safety," he said in April 2026. That same month, Marrakech hosted the global symposium of the International Civil Aviation Organization: more than 1,500 participants from 130 countries.
Rail. The 430-kilometre Kenitra-Marrakech high-speed line was 30% complete in May 2026, with service targeted for 2029. Tangier-Marrakech should then drop from 6 h 30 to 3 h 30. The rail programme includes 168 new trains by 2030.
The sea. "95% of our trade goes by sea," he recalled in May 2026 in Tangier, opening the first National Maritime Conference. The country now has only around fifteen Moroccan-flagged ships, against 70 to 80 in the 1970s. A strategic study on rebuilding that fleet has been launched.
The road. Faced with rising fuel prices, a 648-million-dirham support scheme was opened in 2026 to the owners of 216,000 transport vehicles, according to the minister. On road safety, he presented a 2026-2030 action plan at the end of 2025, after 3,324 deaths in the first nine months of the year.
What his ministry changes for your journeys
This is the part that concerns you directly.
Who does what during Marhaba. The operation is coordinated by the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity, with the Interior Ministry, the Gendarmerie, the national police, Customs and Civil Protection. The Transport Ministry authorises airlines and their flights, builds the ferry fleet plan with shipowners, checks safety on board and monitors crossing prices.
Air: a growing offer. For summer 2026, the minister announced 2,403 flights a week to 160 airports in 61 countries. "This represents a 55% increase in weekly flights compared with last summer," he told the House of Councillors on 9 June. In 2026 Royal Air Maroc opened routes from Casablanca to Bilbao, Alicante, Palma, Verona and Lille. Ryanair opened its fifth Moroccan base in Rabat in April 2026.
Ferries: capacity. Summer 2025 is the latest published reference: 29 ships from 7 companies on 13 routes, linking Tangier Med, Tangier Ville, Nador and Al Hoceima to nine ports in Spain, France and Italy, with more than 500 crossings a week. For 2026, the minister told parliament of 27 ships on 12 routes. The official maritime report for summer 2026 had not been published by mid-October.
Ticket prices. The minister told parliament in June 2025 that since the liberalisation of the skies in 2006, the State does not set prices. The measures taken concern organisation: monitoring of crossing prices, compulsory booking on all ferry routes and, for the first time in 2025, access to Tangier Med port restricted to travellers holding a ticket for that day. No figure-based measure on fares was announced for 2026.
Strait licences. Morocco has launched tenders to operate the Algeciras-Tangier Med and Tarifa-Tangier Ville routes. The specifications require a Moroccan majority shareholding. No award was known by mid-October 2026.
Your car. The 180-day annual temporary admission and the 40,000-dirham allowance for a permanent return come under Customs, which belongs to the Finance Ministry, not Transport.
A son of the Souss, who started in citrus exports, now holds the routes that link six million Moroccans worldwide to their country. The next Marhaba will show whether supply keeps up with demand.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Abdessamad Kayouh? Born on 11 April 1966 in Oulad Teima, a graduate in international trade, former head of a citrus export company, former Minister of Handicrafts (2012-2013) and Minister of Transport and Logistics since October 2024.
Since when has he been Transport Minister? Since 23 October 2024. He was reappointed on 16 October 2026 in the El Mansouri government.
How many Moroccans abroad came during Marhaba 2026? 4,137,594, up 1.8% on 2025, according to the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity.
Does the government set ferry and air fares? No. The minister has pointed out that the market is liberalised. The ministry monitors crossing prices and requires advance booking on ferry routes.
How many flights link Morocco to other countries in summer? 2,403 flights a week in summer 2026, to 160 airports in 61 countries, according to the minister.
When will the Kenitra-Marrakech high-speed line be ready? Service is targeted for 2029. It was 30% complete in May 2026.
Sources
- •Cover photo: Abdessamad Kayouh at the Federal Senate of Brazil, 21 March 2018, Waldemir Barreto/Agência Senado, CC BY 2.0, cropped
- •TelQuel, official government lists of 7 October 2021 and 23 October 2024, and profile of 16 October 2026; Le360, LeBrief and Morocco World News, 16 October 2026
- •Aujourd'hui le Maroc, profile of 9 February 2012; Hespress, 23 October 2024; Morocco World News, 24 October 2024
- •Le360, interviews of 20 January and 9 April 2026, and 14 April 2026; TelQuel, 30 October 2025, 14 April, 21 May and 26 May 2026
- •Hespress, 23 June 2025, 9 June, 14 July and 23 July 2026; Le360, 9 June 2026; Bladi, 24 June 2025
- •TelQuel, Marhaba 2025 maritime report, 9 October 2025, and maritime licences, 17 August 2026; TelQuel, 15 December 2025; Ryanair press release, 17 December 2025
- •Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity, Marhaba 2026 report (maroc.ma and Yabiladi, 17 September 2026); H24info, 27 November 2025
- •Agência Senado (Federal Senate of Brazil), official captions, 21 March 2018
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