Morocco has authorized nearly 100 special flights to repatriate thousands of tourists.
Rabat – Morocco is mobilized to authorize the return of foreign tourists to their home countries, Minister of Tourism Nadia Fettah Alaoui said today.
Alaoui said in a statement Monday the government had authorized “nearly a hundred special flights which have enabled the repatriation of several thousand tourists.”
Morocco closed down flights to and from France and Spain last week and suspended all international flights on Sunday, March 15, in an effort to prevent more cases of COVID-19 from coming into the country. The move left many tourists caught by surprise and stranded.
Royal Air Maroc also increased “the capacity of [its] last commercial flights … and the number of rotations,” Alaoui said. In addition, airport authorities, tour operators, and partner companies mobilized.
Alaoui added that Morocco’s action was carried out in a spirit of dialogue and responsibility with regard to the foreign tourists.
“Morocco in no way acts by injunction or on an improper order from foreign authorities, our country treats tourists of all nationalities on an equal footing.”
She asserted that Morocco was among the first countries to take drastic but necessary measures against an outbreak COVID-19, especially since the majority of cases of infection in Morocco are imported cases, coming mainly from Italy, France, and Spain.