Spain’s annual Operation Paso del Estrecho (OPE) moved 88,483 passengers and 20,249 vehicles through the ports of Algeciras and Tarifa between Friday and Sunday, 24–26 July—the busiest weekend so far in the 2026 summer migration. The Interior Ministry attributes the smooth flow to additional ferry rotations, a new vehicle-scanning system and pre-booking incentives that have cut average embarkation time to 35 minutes. OPE orchestrates the circular migration of up to three million Maghrebi citizens resident in northern Europe who drive through Spain to board ferries to Morocco. For Andalusian authorities, the surge poses a complex logistics challenge involving Guardia Civil traffic escorts, Red Cross medical tents and temporary car parks capable of holding 7,000 vehicles. This year’s novelty is a real-time dashboard that fuses ANPR (automatic number-plate recognition) data with ferry-operator manifests, allowing port police to stagger arrivals on the AP-7 motorway. Businesses that rely on just-in-time trucking via Algeciras should note that freight queues lengthen when OPE traffic peaks; Spanish customs recommends overnight departures where possible. HR teams with North-African talent should also be aware that the return phase, 15 August to 15 September, often coincides with back-to-school travel, compounding ticket scarcity on the Strait crossings. This weekend’s figures suggest the 2026 operation may surpass the pre-pandemic record of 3.34 million travellers if current trends continue. The Moroccan Consulate in Algeciras has opened an extra passport-renewal desk to cope with demand, while Spain’s Border Police have deployed mobile biometric stations on the port apron to accelerate exit checks under the new EES regime. Travellers are advised to buy ferry tickets in advance, arrive with printed reservations and carry sufficient water; daytime temperatures exceeded 37 °C on Saturday, triggering yellow heat alerts. The Red Cross treated 213 minor cases of heat exhaustion but reported no major medical incidents.
Source: Cadena SER
