A new 7,000-kilometre flight from Casablanca is in the works

Negotiations are under way with several airlines to open a Casablanca–Almaty route, Morocco’s ambassador to Kazakhstan, Mohammed Rachid Maaninou, reveals in an interview published on Monday, 14 September, by The Astana Times.

The project provides for an initial service with a technical stopover. A nonstop flight could then be offered once an aircraft suitable for this distance is available. Casablanca and Almaty are approximately 7,000 kilometres apart.

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No airline, launch date or frequency has yet been announced. Nevertheless, the discussions are sufficiently advanced for the operating plan for the future route to already be under study.

A first step towards a direct flight

The project was prepared in April during a meeting in Marrakech between Tarik Talibi, director general of Moroccan civil aviation, and Saltanat Tompiyeva, president of Kazakhstan’s Civil Aviation Committee.

Astana had then asked Morocco to examine the granting of fifth-freedom traffic rights, according to Kazakhstan’s Aviation Administration. These rights would allow a Kazakh airline to serve Morocco via a third country and, under certain conditions, to carry passengers on the intermediate leg.

Rabat had agreed to examine the proposal and the possibility of formalising it in a memorandum of understanding. The planned route could therefore begin with an intermediate stop before becoming entirely direct.

Its opening would accompany the economic rapprochement between the two countries. Kazakhstan notably wants to store its wheat in a Moroccan port in order to supply African markets, while business delegations are making increasingly frequent trips between the two countries.

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For Casablanca, this new route would provide unprecedented access to Central Asia. For Almaty, it would offer a gateway to Morocco, West Africa and the international network served from Mohammed V Airport.