The Operation Crossing of the Strait (OPE) 2026 faces this weekend one of the most intense moments of the return phase, with Friday, August 28, being the day for which the highest concentration of movements of the summer is expected in the ports of the Strait of Gibraltar.
The maritime authorities of the Bay of Algeciras have adapted the configuration of the border facilities to accommodate the increase of passengers and vehicles coming from North Africa. Schengen control has started operating in return configuration with the aim of increasing the processing capacity of customs and security procedures associated with travelers returning to various European countries.
The flows heading north remain at high levels from the main departure ports on the other side of the Strait, mainly Tangier Med, Tangier Ville, and Ceuta.
Between August 20 and 27, the ports of Algeciras and Tarifa received a total of 197,970 passengers and 44,364 vehicles within the OPE return operation. These figures reflect the high concentration of movements that occurs during the last weeks of August, one of the central periods of the return of residents in Europe who have spent part of the summer in North Africa.
The Port of Tarifa has channeled 48,233 passengers and 9,268 vehicles during this period. The connection between Tangier Ville and Tarifa ranks as the second route with the highest usage during the return phase, only behind the Tangier Med-Algeciras link.
The Tangier Ville-Tarifa line ranks, according to the provided data, ahead of the Ceuta-Algeciras and Nador-Almeria connections in terms of usage volume during this period.
Forecasts for this August 28 point to a new concentration of traffic in the two ports managed in the Bay of Algeciras. Combined arrivals at Algeciras and Tarifa could exceed 50,000 passengers and 11,000 vehicles throughout the day.
The current edition of the Operation Crossing of the Strait is number 36 and maintains the ports of Algeciras and Tarifa as the main maritime transit points of the operation.
Since the beginning of the campaign until August 26, the operation had recorded 1,078,684 passengers and 261,006 vehicles transported in a total of 3,584 ship rotations.
Algeciras and Tarifa account for approximately 70% of the registered maritime movement during the campaign. The rest of the traffic is distributed among other participating Spanish ports in the operation, including Alicante, Valencia, Almeria, Motril, and Malaga.
The Bay of Algeciras thus maintains the main weight within the maritime operation, both in terms of the number of passengers and the number of vehicles using the connections with North Africa.
In the return phase, the movement primarily occurs from North African ports to Spanish territory, before travelers continue their journeys by road to their places of residence in different European countries.
The accumulated data from the campaign show, however, a decrease compared to the same period in 2025. Up to the analyzed dates, the number of passengers stands 5.6% below that recorded the previous year, while the volume of vehicles shows a reduction of 4.1%.
The year-on-year evolution contrasts with the expected concentration of traffic for these last days of August, when a significant portion of return trips coincides in the main maritime connections of the Strait.
The adaptation of border control in the Bay of Algeciras seeks to respond precisely to this temporary concentration of passengers and vehicles. The return configuration allows dedicating greater capacity of the facilities to travelers arriving from North Africa and subsequently continuing their journey to Europe.
Within this framework, Tangier Med-Algeciras maintains the position of the main maritime connection during the return phase. Next is Tangier Ville-Tarifa, whose activity during the week from August 20 to 27 has contributed to the combined volume of nearly 198,000 passengers channeled through both Spanish ports.
The Operation Crossing of the Strait will remain active in the coming weeks. The operation is scheduled to officially end on September 15, after which maritime traffic between both shores will gradually return to its regular schedule.
