The airline reportedly hopes that the first flights linking Casablanca and Tel Aviv will start in May 2020.
Rabat – Israeli airline El Al is looking to open a direct flight route between Israel and Morocco, according to reports circulating in Israeli media.
El Al’s CEO Gonen Usishkin travelled to Morocco in June 2019 for a tourism conference. While at the event, Usishkin met with officials from Royal Air Maroc to discuss the idea, according to Yisrael Hayom.
Moroccan media are speculating that the launch of direct flights between the two countries could be as soon as May. If the launch goes ahead, the flight would be the first route linking Casablanca and Tel Aviv. However, El Al has not released a statement confirming the rumors.
Currently, there are no direct flights between Morocco and Israel. People travelling between the two countries usually make a stop at a connecting airport before reaching their destination.
Israeli media recalled a 2018 interview with Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita when he said that Morocco welcomes Israeli tourists.
“Unlike other Arab countries, Jews and Israelis are no strangers to us. The Jews were always friends and neighbors,” said the minister.
Morocco welcomes thousands of Israelis every year who visit the kingdom for tourism or religious pilgrimages. The majority of Israelis who visit the country have Moroccan roots. There are also about 2,000 Jews currently living in Morocco.
Morocco regularly affirms its support for the Palestinian people and is not considering normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel.
Before the recent visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Morocco, on Thursday, December 5, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to join the US official. However, King Mohammed VI rejected the Israeli official’s request according to the Times of Israel.
