Low cost airlines boost competition in Morocco

  1. Posted on Wednesday 2 December 2009 - 10:45
    Addou
    Image of Addou
    Merieme Addou, AfricaNews reporter in Rabat, Morocco
    International and low-cost flights are experiencing strong growth in Morocco. Low cost airlines, such as Jet 4 you, Atlas Blue, Ryanair and Easyjet, have come onto the Moroccan market with large-scale passenger capacity and frequent flights.
    Plane
    The liberalisation of the air transport sector and the agreement with the EU have allowed for an evolution in air traffic in the 2004-2008 period, practically 17% per year.

    Morocco is the first non-European country to conclude such a global air transport agreement with the European Union. This reinforces its bid for advanced status in its relationship with the Union - a condition less than accession, but more than its current association status.

    Morocco has embarked on a series of ambitious plans to attract tourists. The North African country is seeking to create six coastal resorts, five on the Atlantic Coast and one on the Mediterranean; it is upgrading regional airports to attract budget airlines to locations other than Marrakech, to increase flight capacity over the country.

    Morocco launched its Vision 2010 in 2001, a broad-based policy to almost double the number of visitors to the country to 10 million by the end of the decade. The strategy appears to be on target with visitor numbers in 2006 reaching 7.1 million.

    Morocco is already looking beyond the 10 million goal with figures of 12 million, 14 million and even 20 million tourists per annum mentioned as future ambitions.

    With several upgrades airport and plans for new airports in Tangier and Tetouan, in the north of the country, other low cost airlines such as Monarch and Thompson are rumoured to have signed up to various Moroccan airports.

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