French Family Stranded in Morocco as Air Links Suspended, Embassy Silent

Big trouble for Sherhazade Essaber, a 34-year-old nurse from Nice, who came to visit a dying relative. In a message posted on Twitter, the Nice woman expresses her dismay. "No flight... Normal to be on the street with 3 young children in another country. No accommodation, no repatriation, no response from your embassy," she writes. Her many attempts to book new flights have failed. According to her, there will be no new flights before April 18. The freelance nurse is in a difficult situation: no accommodation solution, need to spend 1,349 euros to return to France with her children, summarizes France info.

"Passenger flights to and from France and Spain will be suspended from tomorrow, March 30, 2021 at 11:59 pm, until further notice," the Moroccan authorities said in a statement dated March 29, in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus on its territory. As a result, many French people like Sherhazade found themselves stranded in the kingdom. Things are going to quickly complicate. The airline Royal Air Maroc is suspending all its flights "in accordance with the preventive measures taken by the Kingdom of Morocco in the context of the current health situation".

For its part, Air France has engaged in discussions with the Moroccan authorities to operate "special" flights to allow the affected French to return home. "Impacted customers are informed individually," the airline said. On Friday, the French embassy in Morocco announced that a few special flights from Morocco to France are maintained "on authorization, on a case-by-case basis and often on very short notice," and at the same time invited passengers stranded to contact Transavia and Air France very quickly to book a new flight. These flights will be operated in strict compliance with the health measures decreed by the French authorities.

Not enough to reassure Sherhazade. The Nice airport also confirmed that no flight from Morocco will be operated this weekend. The mother and her three children are still uncertain about their return flight. "I’m going to go see the Royal Air Maroc company again," she wrote, desperate. She and her children are now staying with relatives.