News
Wednesday 26 January 2022

No Notice Was Received on Airlines Canceling Flights to Morocco, Minister Says

No Notice Was Received on Airlines Canceling Flights to Morocco, Minister Says

Civil aviation authorities in Morocco have not received any notice about the intention of some "low-cost" international airlines to cancel their flights to Morocco, said Tuesday the Minister of Transport and Logistics, Mohamed Abdeljalil.

Speaking at the House of Advisors (Upper House), the minister stressed that the companies concerned have not made public any press release on this issue, adding that they are scheduling flights to Moroccan airports, just like other airlines operating in the Kingdom, in anticipation of the resumption of international air traffic to Morocco.

In this regard, he recalled that the Kingdom has adopted since 2003 a proactive policy of liberalization of air transport, which led to the signing in 2006 of the Open Sky agreement with the European Union, the first of its kind concluded by the Union with a Mediterranean country and the second in the world.

To implement this agreement, the government has made significant efforts to attract two large "low-cost" companies from Europe to invest in the Moroccan market, which has contributed to the development of the national air transport sector, he added.

The Minister underlined, in this regard, that passenger traffic has quadrupled over the past 20 years, noting that more than 25 million passengers passed through Moroccan airports in 2019 against 6 million in 2003.

Mr. Abdeljalil also recalled that the air transport sector has been strongly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with a drop to 7 million passengers in 2020, noting that the exceptional operation "Marhaba 2021" has allowed to increase the number of passengers to reach a total of 10 million.

MAP