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OPE 2026

Aug 24
Love3

Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar OPE 2026

By 2026 Newsletter week 34

The main OPE 2026 trends through 15 August are:

  • Overall traffic remains slightly below 2025: passengers -3.1%, vehicles -2.1% in the completed outbound phase.
  • Fewer sailings (-6.0%) than last year, while traffic declined less sharply, pointing to higher average utilisation.
  • Algeciras is losing traffic, with outbound passengers down 7.6%; the Ceuta route is particularly weak.
  • Tarifa–Tanger Ville is the clear outperformer: outbound passengers +7.0% and vehicles +12.6%. Return traffic is also showing double-digit growth.
  • Almería is growing, while Motril is substantially down.
  • The key trend is therefore not simply declining OPE traffic, but a redistribution between ports and routes, with Tarifa gaining strongly.

Detailed OPE figures through 15 August in El Estrecho (in Spanish)

Aug 17
Love3

OPE 2026 Southbound Traffic Slightly Down, Tarifa Gains Ground

By 2026 Newsletter week 33

The southbound peak of Operación Paso del Estrecho (OPE*) 2026 has ended with slightly lower traffic than in 2025.

Up to 10 August, Spanish ports handled 1.58 million passengers and 400,825 vehicles, down 3.1% and 2.3% respectively year-on-year.

Algeciras and Tarifa accounted for more than 1.14 million passengers and 287,225 vehicles.

Algeciras remained the dominant gateway but recorded a 7.3% decline in passengers.

In contrast, Tarifa–Tanger Ville continued to gain ground, with passengers up 7.6% to 284,559 and vehicles up 12.4% to 49,109.

The growth was achieved despite fewer sailings, underlining the route’s increasingly important role in Strait traffic.

(*) Spain’s Operación Paso del Estrecho (OPE) is the annual summer operation managing the huge flow of travellers between Europe and North Africa across the Strait of Gibraltar.

https://www.elestrechodigital.com/2026/08/11/los-puertos-de-algeciras-y-tarifa-acumulan-mas-de-114-millones-de-pasajeros-en-la-fase-de-salida-de-la-ope-2026