RAM suspends numerous flights after Morocco closes airspace

Royal Air Maroc (AT, Casablanca Int’l) and its regional subsidiary Royal Air Maroc Express (RXP, Casablanca Int’l) have suspended flights to 17 countries until May 21, after Morocco began closing its airports and airspace due to COVID-19 on March 31. In its Twitter feed, Royal Air Maroc announced it had suspended flights to and from France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Turkey, the UK, Egypt, Algeria, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Conakry, Mali, and Ghana until May 21. According to a series of COVID-19 NOTAMs published by the United Nation’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on April 8, all flights to and from Morocco have been suspended until further notice, except for over-flight, cargo operations, and medical evacuations. Special repatriation flights by foreign airlines are allowed on request by their governments on condition of having authorisation from the country’s civil aviation authority (Direction Générale de l’Aviation Civile – DGAC) via its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Moroccan airlines may also schedule repatriation flights in coordination with the ministry and the DGAC. Flights from and to 39 countries are affected, the NOTAMs said, including France, Spain, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, Guinea-Conakry, Argentina, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Cameroon, Croatia, Mozambique, Poland, Norway, Finland, Greece, Lebanon, Kuwait, Algeria, Egypt, Belgium, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Czechia, Ukraine, Australia, Brazil, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and South Africa. All passengers from these countries travelling through another country are also not allowed to enter Morocco. All arrivals in Morocco, excluding flight crews, must have a negative PCR test not exceeding 72-hours before departure. The French embassy in Morocco said on its Facebook page that a few special flights by Air France (AF, Paris CDG) and Transavia France (TO, Paris Orly) continued, for the moment, to operate between France and several cities in the Kingdom, on a case-by-case basis and often on very short notice from Moroccan authorities. Air Arabia (G9, Sharjah) made no further announcements following a tweet on April 1 that flights between Casablanca Int’l and Tunis would resume on April 6, but this did not reflect on the ch-aviation schedules data. FlightRadar24 ADS-B data showed that Air Arabia flights to Casablanca had been cancelled.