Rabat, March 15, 2020 – Several special flights departed Morocco Sunday taking thousands of stranded Europeans home as the kingdom announced it was suspending all regular air traffic due to the coronavirus, authorities and airports said. The situation at Marrakesh airport, Morocco’s largest, began to calm on Sunday evening, after several days of tense scenes.
Morocco had said earlier on Sunday it had decided to suspend all international commercial flights “until further notice”, extending a ban that had previously been applied to around 30 nations, including Italy, France and Spain. But France announced that Rabat had agreed to allow special repatriation flights for its nationals. “Some 40 flights are operating to France today (Sunday) and tomorrow (Monday) from several Moroccan cities and others will follow in the coming days”, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Twitter.
According to information provided by Moroccan airports and embassy notifications, several other special flights were heading out of the North African country for Europe on Sunday, mostly to Belgium, Spain and Germany. The French embassy, like other foreign missions, has set up a special crisis cell and replied to more than 8,500 messages on Twitter from tourists seeking assistance.
At Marrakesh airport, dozens of tourists were still looking for tickets on Sunday evening, but the main departure hall was calm, as hundreds of people who had been trapped there for several days found a way home. Tourism accounts for 10 percent of Morocco’s GDP and is a key source of foreign revenue in the country which last year attracted 13 million visitors.
Meanwhile, thousands of Moroccans have found themselves stranded abroad, awaiting repatriation at airports, especially in France, according to local media. Moroccan authorities on Sunday increased the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country to 28, from 18. One person has so far died from the virus in Morocco. The country has taken a series of measures to contain the spread of the virus, closing schools and universities, cancelling sporting and cultural events and banning public gatherings of more than 50 people. This year’s Mawazine music festival — held annually in Morocco and one of the biggest such events worldwide — will be cancelled, organisers announced Sunday. It had been due to take place in June and last year attracted 2.75 million people.
Tourists flood Morocco airports as flights cut over virus fears
Rabat, March 15, 2020 (AFP) – Thousands of tourists packed airports in Morocco Sunday hoping to board scarce flights back to Europe after regular air links with some 30 countries were suspended in response to the coronavirus. “There are flights, we are waiting at the counter. It is very tense,” French traveller Sabrina told AFP by telephone from the southern tourist hub of Marrakesh. Morocco has suspended regular flights with some 30 countries affected by the new coronavirus epidemic, including Italy, France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and Greece. Flights to and from other destinations such as Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and
Tunisia were also scrapped, as were sea links with European countries.
But France announced that Rabat had agreed to allow special repatriation flights for its nationals. “New flights are being organised to enable (stranded French tourists) to return to France,” President Emmanuel Macron tweeted Saturday. The French embassy, like other foreign missions, set up a special crisis cell and received more than 7,000 messages on Twitter between Friday and Saturday from tourists seeking assistance. According to information provided by Moroccan airports and embassy notifications, several other flights were heading out of the North African country for Europe on Sunday. The special repatriation flights were mostly headed to France, Belgium, Spain and Germany.
This sparked a rush on ticket purchases online, witnesses told AFP. Tourism accounts for 10 percent of Morocco’s GDP and is a key source of foreign revenue in the country which last year had 13 million visitors.
Moroccan authorities have reported 18 cases of COVID-19, including one death. The country has taken a series of measures to contain the spread of the virus, closing schools and universities, cancelling sporting and cultural
events and banning public gatherings of more than 50 people.
