For those who were wondering, it will be a priori impossible to spend the end of year celebrations in Morocco this year.
"
All flights to and from Morocco are suspended from December 9 until December 31 minimum,
" announced Thursday evening the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC), specifying that exceptional repatriation flights were still subject to authorizations from the Moroccan authorities.
The kingdom's air borders have been closed since November 29 due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 and the resurgence of the pandemic in Europe.
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Passenger maritime links are also suspended until December 31, according to the economic information site Médias24.
The national company Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has also indicated that its flights "
from and to Morocco will be canceled in both directions from December 09, 2021, until December 31, 2021 at 11.59 p.m. (22.59 GMT)
", according to a tweet posted Thursday evening on its official page.
The Moroccan press agency MAP has confirmed the extension of the suspension of commercial flights "
at a later date
", citing a source close to air transport circles.
"Preserving the achievements of Morocco"
Since the air borders were closed on November 29, special repatriation flights have been organized from Morocco, in particular to Europe, in particular France. In addition, the government "is
studying
" the repatriation of Moroccans stranded abroad since the closure of the air borders, said Thursday the Minister of Health, Khalid Aït Taleb, during a press point, without giving more details. These measures were decided "in
order to preserve the achievements of Morocco in the fight against the pandemic
" of Covid-19, according to the authorities. The epidemiological situation has stabilized, with low transmission of the virus for five weeks, according to the Ministry of Health.
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A total of 951,092 contaminations and 14,794 deaths have been recorded in the country since the first case reported in March 2020, according to the latest official report released on Thursday.
However, tourism professionals are alarmed by the devastating impact of the closing of the borders on this vital sector for the kingdom's economy, already undermined by an unprecedented crisis for almost two years.