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Join on Telegram Rabat – The repatriation of Moroccans stranded abroad continues with new 917 nationals arriving at Marrakech Menara Airport on June 26, on six flights from the UK, France, the Netherlands, Cote d’Ivoire, and Senegal.
The six planes carried between 147 and 160 passengers each, landing successively and bringing stranded Moroccans back home in full respect of sanitary measures.
Morocco’s flag carrier, Royal Air Maroc (RAM), brought home nationals from France on three separate planes, on one plane from the UK, and on one from the Netherlands. Repatriated citizens returning from Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire shared the same flight.
The Menara airport, which made the customs procedures as fluid as possible, also implemented all prescribed preventive measures to ensure a safe arrival for passengers. The airport implemented social distancing and provided hand sanitizer throughout the whole process.
The necessary preventive measures in airports follow the Moroccan National Office of Airports’ (ONDA) action plan formulated specifically for the repatriation of Moroccans stranded abroad.
Upon arrival, the repatriated Moroccans boarded buses bound for eight hotels in Marrakech, where they were tested for COVID-19 and will undergo quarantine in accordance with Ministry of Health protocols.
Some 33,000 Moroccans had been stranded abroad for more than three months after the country closed its borders on March 15 to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Morocco first launched the repatriation operation for stranded Moroccans to benefit those the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, followed by Algeria, mainland Spain, the Canary Islands, and Turkey.
The most recent operation took place in parallel with the repatriation of 150 stranded citizens from Italy, coming from Milan to Agadir on June 26. Milan was one of the European regions hardest hit by COVID-19 between February and March.
Morocco has scheduled 30 repatriation flights between June 21 and 27 to bring back home a total of 4,644 stranded nationals from 17 countries around the world.
Continuing repatriation operations will benefit 5,000 to 6,000 Moroccans stranded abroad every week.
A campaign to repatriate Moroccans stranded in Germany, Egypt, Turkey, and Gulf countries will take place between June 28 and July 4.
Since beginning repatriation operations, Morocco has brought home nationals from Ceuta and Melilla, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, Senegal, Spain, Cote d’Ivoire, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Turkey, and the UAE.
