Casablanca Airport
Lasting Impressions....
Memorable comments left by travellers:
Had to ask someone where the children's play area was, he looked at me like I was stupid - and asked "you want to play?". (Si)
FEATURED REVIEWS
by lightstays
"CMN is the ticket for those of you who have blown all your money on hashish and overpriced beer in Marrakech and have nothing left for a 30 D hostel. Also for those of us who have a early flight out of CMN and don't want to rely on the notoriously late, but improving, ONCF train to the airport, which does not run after 9:30 pm from Casa Port.The downstairs arrivals hall is a noisy mess so forget it. I arrived around 11 after traveling most of the previous three days returning from Mauritania, so I was ready to sleep on a bed of coals or live rats. I was not going to choosy.Head upstairs. At the far, far end away from the check-in area, there is a wonderful kid's play area with PADDED RUBBER MATS that is perfect for all you Europeans who have never heard of the Therma-rest yet. I chose the area next to it by under weird diorama of CMN circa some unknown year. I dozed off around 1 and was out until 8 or 9. No one bothered me, no fleas bit me, and no announcements were made about the immediate embarkation of Libyan Airways flight #XXX for Tripoli like in the check-in area.Good coffee at either of the two cafes afterward."
by ?
"I had a 6am flight out of Casablanca, the last leg of a 42-hour journey which began in Gibraltar (a UK territory), went through Spain via bus, across the strait of Gibraltar via ferry, across Morocco via train, and finally to the Casa airport via taxi (trains to the airport stop after 8pm and don't resume until 8am the next morning, making them worthless for early morning flights). My taxi dropped me off at the front of the airport a little after midnight.To my surprise, there was a security checkpoint located OUTSIDE the airport, at the front door, and the gruff guard looked at my itinerary and told me that I wouldn't be allowed in until an hour before my flight. I reasoned with him that my taxi had already left, the airport was deserted and I'd have no way to even return to the city proper to sleep in a hotel (which I couldn't afford), that I was flying out in just a few hours, and that my flight was so early that it would be tremendous waste of time to do so, but he would have none of it, nor did he accept a bribe (surprising, since petty bribery had been my ticket to just about anything else I needed in Morocco).I was not prepared for this eventuality, and the night was fairly cold. Luckily, there was an open-air cafe just outside the airport. The cafe was closed, but the owner was still there (apparently, he spent his nights there too). I convinced him to sell me some food, bought a disgusting sardine sandwich and a fanta off him to butter him up, and bribed him to let me sleep in his cafe. He even offered me a couple of broken down cardboard boxes to cover myself with.Not an experience anyone ought to repeat. Don't know if the situation has changed and the first, outdoor security checkpoint is still there, but I'm wondering if it's possible to even get into the airport more than an hour or two in advance of your flight anymore, let alone sleep in it."
Airport Guide
Here is some information that we've picked out of from your reviews. Be sure to read the review pages for the most up-to-date experiences:
- padded rubber mats in kid's play area
- air-conditioning too high
- arrivals hall is a noisy mess
- bucket seats
- wearing a djellaba may help
- you may be refused entry until an hour before your flight
- bribes don't seem to work here
Travel Sites
- Hostels and Budget Accommodation in Casablanca - I've booked my own accommodation on this site. If you are too old for hostels and too cheap for hotels, like me, you'll find some good properties. They offer dorms, private rooms, B&Bs, Apartments.
