What is Casablanca Mohammed V Airport like?

Casablanca Mohammed V is the main gateway into Morocco, and it feels like it — this is a proper international hub handling long-haul flights, Royal Air Maroc’s network and a constant churn of connections, so it is bigger, busier and a touch more impersonal than Marrakech or Fes. There are two terminals linked by a walkway, plenty of shops and cafes airside, lounges, and the corridors are long, so build in extra walking time, especially if you are connecting between an international arrival and a domestic flight.

The single best thing about CMN, and what sets it apart, is the train station built right into the airport. Head down from the arrivals level and you reach an ONCF station with direct trains into the city — Casa-Voyageurs and Casa-Port — and, crucially, onward connections to Rabat and a direct line down to Marrakech. That makes Casablanca uniquely easy to leave without a car: you can land, walk to the platform and be on a train within the hour, which I will come back to in the airport-train questions.

On arrival, the flow is the familiar one but on a larger scale: passport control (which can be slow at peak banks of flights), baggage claim, then a big arrivals concourse with ATMs, exchange desks, car-hire counters, the taxi rank and the stairs or escalators down to the train. The airport is about 30 km southeast of the city centre, so a taxi or transfer into Casablanca is a real journey of 30–45 minutes depending on traffic, not the quick hop you get at Marrakech. Free wifi exists but can be temperamental.

My honest guidance: CMN is efficient but it rewards giving yourself margin. Immigration and security lines swell when several wide-bodies land together, the distances are real, and the touts and unofficial "taxi" offers are more aggressive than at smaller airports — use the official rank, the train, or a pre-booked driver holding a name board. If Casablanca is only your entry point and your real destination is Marrakech or Fes, seriously consider walking straight to the train rather than taxiing into the city at all.