Royal Air Maroc Cargo is renovating and expanding its cold storage facilities at Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport (CAS), its main hub, after 13 years of operation. When the work is complete, the facility will have five temperature-controlled chambers – up from four – covering a total of 590 m² and split between three chambers for imports and two for exports. The chambers will offer a range of temperature zones to serve different cargo types: two chilled chambers (2°–8°C) for imports and exports measuring 240 m² and 140 m² respectively, two ambient-controlled chambers (15°–25°C) of 85 m² and 100 m², and one 25 m². frozen chamber for imports. This variety is aimed at meeting the needs of Morocco’s significant fresh produce and flower export trade, as well as growing pharmaceutical demand.
Beyond Casablanca, Royal Air Maroc Cargo maintains temperature-controlled storage across all six of Morocco’s commercial airports, Fès–Saïs Airport (FEZ), Oujda’s Angads Airport (OUD), Rabat–Salé Airport (RBA), Agadir–Al Massira Airport (AGA), and Marrakesh Menara Airport (RAK), providing end-to-end cold chain coverage nationwide. The airline’s Fresh Cargo product is specifically designed for perishable shipments, offering priority handling, specialist containers and temperature-controlled units to protect cargo quality throughout transit.
Rita Chraibi, VP Cargo at Royal Air Maroc, outlined: “Three key factors led to our substantial investment in upgrading the cold storage facilities at Casablanca Airport. Firstly, temperature-controlled facilities should be renovated at least every 15 years. Secondly, our strategic fleet expansion is already seeing a steady increase in volumes through our main hub, and thirdly, we are registering fast logistics growth in pharmaceuticals in Morocco and Africa due to improving healthcare infrastructures and rising demand – a trend which will continue for years to come.”
Hicham Kharbach, Head of Cargo Operations at Royal Air Maroc, added: “Our facilities were new when we moved into them in 2012, and have since successfully undergone many regular maintenance and system calibration checks. Yet, it is clear that Royal Air Maroc Cargo needs more and larger storage chambers to continue providing seamless, top-quality service as volumes grow. And as equipment and technology has developed since then, we stand to benefit from improved energy efficiency in our temperature-controlled warehouses, which will soon be alimented by solar energy.”
