Polisario Condemns Spain’s Transfer of Western Sahara Airspace to Morocco

Abdallah Arabi, the Polisario representative in Spain, opposes Spain’s decision to transfer the management of the Sahara’s airspace to Morocco. "Spain does not own this space, and therefore cannot give up on this issue," he reacted on Thursday in a statement to the press. He also renewed his call to Pedro Sánchez to go back on his support for the Moroccan autonomy plan, in order to "comply with international law". As the administering power, Spain has managed, through ENAIRE, a Spanish public company attached to the Ministry of Transport, the airspace of the Sahara for decades from the Canary Islands, as established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) which controls air traffic in this area.

The Spanish decision comes after the latest 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. Two meetings have already been held. 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, diplomatic sources within the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported to the Spanish newspaper OK Diario.

Spain has decided to transfer the management of the Sahara’s airspace to Morocco, in exchange for the opening of the customs offices of Ceuta and Melilla. Last June, the Moncloa had informed Morocco that Spain was going to suspend the transfer to Morocco of the management of the Sahara’s airspace. The Spanish government had acknowledged having engaged in negotiations with Rabat on this subject with a view to achieving greater security in the connections and technical cooperation. The end of the legislature and the triggering of the electoral process in the country were at the origin of the decision to suspend the transfer.