In a sign of a return to normalcy, the Moroccan government announced that it would possibly be resuming commercial international air travel from the country by next Wednesday or Thursday.
As more countries reopen their borders following the shutdown from COVID-19, it seems Morocco will not be far behind. In a recent statement from the General Directorate of Civil Aviation to Moroccan aircrews, the government has intentions to resume international air travel within the next week, reports Le360.
This announcement comes as Morocco also prepares to launch Operation Marhaba 2021, after cancelling it last year due to difficulties from the pandemic. The operation’s main focus is the repatriation of Moroccans living abroad, and as the world begins to recover from the effects of COVID-19, Morocco has its sights set on resuming travel to the country as soon as possible.
France, a close commercial partner to Morocco, announced today that it was strategizing a safe reopening of borders as well. Morocco currently sits in France’s “Orange” zone in terms of its COVID rating, and any citizen that travelled to France would require a negative COVID test as well as a self-isolation period of seven days.
Currently, the Moroccan government is still monitoring the COVID situation in countries like France and Spain that share lots of air traffic with Morocco, in order to develop the safest routes towards reopening the borders, according to a minister delegate in charge of Moroccans Living Abroad (MRE).
The Moroccan government has maintained a ban on direct flights to fifty countries, which is set to expire on June 10th.
As a leader in the fight against COVID-19 within Africa, Morocco is in a prime position to be one of the earliest to reopen borders and regain some of the tourism revenue that has been lost in the past year because of the shutdowns stemming from the pandemic.
