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Rabat – Spain resumes flights to repatriate irregular migrants to Morocco, according to Spanish media.
According to the Spanish news outlet Cadenaser, the first flight is scheduled to arrive in Laayoune, southern Morocco, today, March 22, carrying several Moroccan immigrants on board.
Most of the immigrants had arrived in the Canary Islands by boat.
Spain’s program of repatriation flights was suspended for almost a year, the same source reported.
The first flight will depart from Gran Canaria airport, while a second is scheduled for tomorrow, March 23.
Spain’s Ministry of the Interior resumed its efforts to repatriate Moroccan immigrants after Morocco lifted the travel ban on February 7.
The Spanish government has been negotiating the schedule of repatriation flights with its counterpart in Rabat, Cadenaser added.
The resumption of flights comes after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez officially endorsed Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Sanchez stressed that Morocco’s autonomy plan is “the most serious, realistic, and credible basis for resolving the dispute.”
The Spanish government has been working alongside Morocco to curb irregular migration and prevent mass migration attempts for years, with the North African country reinforcing control at its borders with the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.
Read Also: Spanish Minister: Migration Cooperation With Morocco is “Perfect”
