Operation Crossing the Strait 2024, coordinated by the Directorate General of Civil Protection and Emergencies of the Ministry of the Interior, completed the departure phase on Thursday 15 August, during which a total of 428,117 vehicles (9.6 per cent more than in 2023) and 1,695,731 passengers (6.9 per cent more than last year) crossed the Strait of Gibraltar. In both cases, these are record highs.

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The first phase of Operation Crossing the Strait 2024 concludes with record highs in the number of passengers and vehicles

The highest concentration of vehicles in this departure phase, which began on 13 June, took place on the last weekend of July and the first weekend of August, and closed without incident.

Concerning the ports of departure for crossing the Strait of Gibraltar, Algeciras, with 951,028 passengers (representing an increase of 5.5 per cent compared to 2023) and 258,572 vehicles (8 per cent more than last year), is the port with the highest recorded traffic, at a great distance from the rest of the ports used for transit through the Strait of Gibraltar.

In terms of destination ports, those of Morocco (Tangiers, Nador and Al Hoceima) were the destination of more than 70 per cent of the passengers. For its part, Ceuta received a total of 285,242 passengers, 1.9 per cent of the trips, and Melilla received more than 160,000 passengers.

The return phase is still open and will close on 15 September, when Operation Crossing the Strait 2024 will come to an end. As of Thursday 15 August, a total of 549,457 passengers have already made the return journey from African countries to the European Union, which represents a decrease of 1.8 per cent compared to the same dates in 2023.

Operation Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar 2024 includes a wide-ranging plan in which, in addition to the Ministry of the Interior, numerous government bodies are involved, such as Puertos del Estado and the Directorate General of the Merchant Navy, belonging to the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda; the Directorate General of Public Health of the Ministry of Health, as well as the Government delegations and sub-delegations where the ports of embarkation are located.