Morocco recorded 350,000 visits from Chinese tourists in 2019. The new flight is expected to increase the flow of visitors into Morocco.
Rabat – A Royal Air Maroc (RAM) plane has made the first nonstop flight between Morocco and China, taking off from Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport on Thursday, January 16, at 5 pm, and landing at Beijing Daxing International Airport on Friday at 11:55 am (local time).
A large delegation of Moroccan and Chinese officials boarded the inaugural 13-hour-long flight to China, including RAM’s president, Hamid Addou, and the Director-General of the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT), Adel Al Fakir, along with other officials from the Ministry of Tourism.
On landing, Chinese officials organized a reception in honor of the Moroccan delegation and in celebration of the inauguration of the new flight route. Daxing International Airport’s vice-president, Kong Yu, chaired the ceremony.
Speaking at the ceremony, RAM’s president shared hopes that the direct flight between Casablanca and Beijing will help to strengthen the economic and diplomatic ties between the two countries and the two peoples.
The company aims to increase the frequency of flights and open new routes, he noted, adding that the flight will contribute to the promotion of Morocco as a destination for Chinese tourists.
The new air route will not only benefit Morocco and China but also the African continent, because Casablanca’s airport is a hub serving 32 destinations in Africa, explained Addou.
“It is a historic moment for Morocco and China to be linked for the first time through a nonstop flight,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Daxing Airport vice president stressed that Morocco’s geographic location makes it one of the most important tourist destinations in Africa.
The Chinese official also expressed his gratitude to Morocco and RAM for launching this flight, becoming the first African air carrier to operate a direct flight to the recently-inaugurated Daxing Airport.
Growing traffic
The new flights will be operated by Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner planes with a capacity of 302 passengers, including 26 business class seats.
RAM has scheduled six flights weekly, three in each direction. Flights from Casablanca are set to take off every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday at 5 p.m. and arrive in Beijing at 11:55 a.m. the following day, local time.
Returning flights are scheduled every Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday at 1:55 p.m., local time, and would arrive in Casablanca at 7:55 p.m., Moroccan time.
Daxing International Airport opened its doors in September 2019 and is the second-largest airport in the Chinese capital.
Meanwhile, Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca broke its record of annual attendance by crossing the 10 million passenger mark on December 26, 2019. The number represents the highest annual flow of passengers in the airport’s history.
Relations between Morocco and China began to flourish after King Mohammed VI’s official visit to China in May 2016. The signature of cooperation agreements during the visit ushered in a new phase in bilateral relations.
Human and cultural exchange has seen an exponential rise after the visit, with 350,000 Chinese tourists visiting Morocco in 2019, more than five times the number of Chinese tourists in 2016.
In 2020, Morocco and China are celebrating the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. In commemoration of the occasion, both countries are set to organize special events in their capitals.
