Rabat – Government Spokesman Mustapha Baitas said yesterday that Morocco has repatriated 5,760 Moroccans stranded abroad following the country’s decision to suspend international flights on November 29.
The repatriation process took place through special flights on Royal Air Maroc via an “air bridge” of transits from the United Arab Emirates, Portugal, and Turkey.
Baitas made his remarks regarding the situation of stranded Moroccans during the weekly session at the House of Representatives.
“After the decision of the national authorities to suspend international flights to Morocco since November 29, 2021, all interests and possibilities were mobilized to bring back a number of Moroccan citizens residing in Morocco and who traveled outside the national territory for tourism, family or professional reasons,” Baitas stated.
He said the number of beneficiaries of the repatriation process totaled 5,760 citizens and their spouses during the period of December 15-22.
The repatriation process comes as part of a joint coordination between the ministries of foreign affairs, the interior, health, transport and tourism, as well as the General Directorate of National Security.
Morocco chose Turkey, UAE, and Portugal as regional transit points to facilitate the return of Moroccan citizens stranded in three of the regions where they are largely concentrated: Europe, Asia, and the Arab world.
“The process enabled the deportation of between 1,000 and 1,500 people per day, by adopting specific objective criteria regarding beneficiary citizens, which were applied in a flexible and citizenship manner, taking into account the specificity of each individual case,” Baitas said.
He emphasized that travelers followed specific procedures for these operations. When Morocco introduced special flights to repatriate stranded citizens, the country specified a set of conditions, including a seven day quarantine in hotels dedicated for the process.
The government paid for the stay while passengers had to pay for their return tickets. In addition to requiring a PCR test taken 48 hours before flight, passengers had to undergo a PCR test every 48 hours during their quarantine period.
The citizens returning through these exceptional trips were regionally quarantined in hotels in the cities of Agadir (1,937 beneficiaries), Marrakesh (1,550), Casablanca (935), Fez (669), and Tangiers (669).
“In implementation of the royal directives, great efforts have been made in a tight logistical organization, in order to ensure the smooth organization of the operation, by mobilizing transport planes, conducting medical analyzes upon arrival, and organizing internal transportation from airports to hotels that have been allocated For the purpose of sanitary isolation,” Baitas said.
He concluded by emphasizing that authorities will remain mobilized to face future challenges in the context of the pandemic. Moroccan citizens stranded abroad will not be excluded in the planning of solutions to combat the epidemiological situation.
Flights suspension will remain in order until January 31 amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19, particularly the Omicron strain.
