Doha – Morocco’s bold experiment with aviation liberalization demonstrates how strategic reforms can transform air travel across Africa, where protectionist policies and high costs have long hindered connectivity.
Marie-Noelle Nwokolo, an associate researcher at The Brenthurst Foundation, noted in a new analysis that Morocco was the first African country to sign an Open Skies agreement with the European Union in 2006, effectively opening its aviation market to competition from Europe.
“Skeptics feared the onslaught of European low-cost carriers would kill the national airline, Royal Air Maroc (RAM); it did not,” Nwokolo wrote in her report titled “Soaring above the Aviation Blues: How Reforms can Transform Air Travel across Africa.”
The results proved transformative for Morocco’s economy and travel sector. Passenger volumes between Morocco and Europe grew approximately 18% annually in the four years following the deal, generating an additional €1 billion for Morocco’s GDP by 2009 and creating an estimated 24,000 jobs.
The researcher observed that tourist arrivals climbed steadily at around 6% per year while average fares dropped by roughly 7%, providing direct consumer benefits. Most significantly, despite predictions of its demise, Royal Air Maroc adapted to the new competitive landscape.
“Royal Air Maroc adapted and held its own – it remains the largest player in the market, even as it now competes with a dozen European carriers (including Ryanair and easyJet) that operate frequent-to-daily flights into Morocco,” explained Nwokolo.
The agreement also sparked domestic aviation innovation. Air Arabia Maroc launched in 2009 to tap into the growing budget travel segment, further expanding options for travelers.
Challenges amid success
Despite its overall success, Morocco’s experience also reveals important implementation challenges. Nwokolo cited RAM CEO Abdelhamid Addou’s November 2024 comments describing a pronounced imbalance in the agreement’s practical application.
“European airlines gained unfettered access to Moroccan and African markets, but when Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc sought to expand into Europe, ‘open skies and closed airports’ became their reality,” Nwokolo noted, quoting Addou.
According to Addou, securing landing slots at major European airports remained a persistent struggle, creating an asymmetry in market access that poses serious obstacles for Moroccan carriers.
The research showed that liberalization requires continuous management rather than being a one-time policy decision. Moroccan and EU officials have had to navigate ongoing negotiations on various issues from security standards to airport slot allocations as market conditions evolved.
“In essence, Morocco learned that opening the skies is a journey of constant adjustment,” Nwokolo stated in her analysis. “Still, the overarching lesson is clear: thoughtful liberalization and competitive readiness can yield dramatic benefits for African aviation.”
Untapped opportunities
The report contrasted Morocco’s approach with widespread protectionism across Africa. Despite housing 18% of the world’s population, Africa accounts for just 2% of global air passenger traffic – a situation Nwokolo described as “not inevitable – it is self-imposed.”
Continental efforts such as the 1999 Yamoussoukro Decision and the African Union’s Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), launched in 2018, have faced implementation hurdles, limiting potential economic gains
Nwokolo presented data that signals untapped opportunities with far-reaching implications for Africa. An African Union study in 2022 projected that full implementation of SAATM would boost Africa’s GDP by $4.2 billion, create almost 600,000 new jobs, and reduce average airfares by 27%.
The analysis pointed to real-world validation already seen in limited cases. When Kenya and South Africa liberalized flights between them in the early 2000s, passenger traffic surged 69%. Similarly, when South Africa allowed low-cost carriers into the South Africa-Zambia market, fares fell and traffic jumped 38%.
“The vision of a connected Africa, where an entrepreneur in Accra can easily hop a flight to meet a client in Lusaka, or a family in Dakar can vacation affordably in Cape Town, is within reach,” Nwokolo concluded. She added that achieving this vision “will require bold leadership, relentless technical work, and yes, tough negotiations to reconcile interests.”
Read also: Airbus Sees Morocco as Key Partner in Aviation Growth
