Morocco Prepares to Manage Sahara Airspace as Spain Considers Transfer

In anticipation of the transfer by Spain of the management of the airspace of the Sahara, Morocco is preparing to divide its airspace into two zones, north and south. The air traffic control center in Casablanca will continue to manage the areas under current Moroccan air sovereignty, namely the northern zones, while the Agadir center will take charge of the southern zone, composed of the Saharan provinces, as soon as it receives the management of its airspace from Madrid, learns the Assahifa site from responsible sources, adding that the kingdom is already developing the new Agadir air station. This new station, whose construction was completed in 2019, has been in service for two years. Its two main functions are: to serve as a backup station to the Casablanca station in case of a problem, and to take charge of the management of the airspace of the Sahara. Pending the transfer of the management of the airspace of the Sahara, it is limited to its current role, that is to say to be a "backup station capable of replacing its Casablanca counterpart in case of interruption of its operation for any reason whatsoever".

The Spanish decision comes after the last visit of the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sànchez, to Morocco, during which he met with King Mohammed VI on February 21, 2024. Already, the two parties have set up a working group to work on the file, in accordance with the joint declaration of April 7, 2022. Several meetings have already taken place. Spain and Morocco have formed "a technical commission to deal with the details related to technical and security cooperation in the field of airspace management" in the territory. The issue of the opening of the customs offices of Ceuta and Melilla was also on the agenda of the meeting between the two personalities. According to the same sources, the negotiations on this subject are "very advanced". And, it is rather the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that negotiates for Morocco and not the Ministry of Transport and Logistics.