Royal Air Maroc Faces $270 Million Deficit Amid Soaring Fuel Costs

Speaking on Tuesday in parliament on the company’s financial report for this year, Fouzi Lekjaa announced a deficit of 2.7 billion dirhams for the current fiscal year, which will end on October 31, reports Medias24.

According to a source within the company cited by the website, the ministry’s forecasts are accurate and reflect the figures from the previous year. To explain this huge deficit, the same source indicated that "the company missed three major appointments with its European markets, namely for the peak periods of the All Saints’ holidays in October, the end-of-year holidays and finally the February school break."

Despite the strong recovery in its activity, RAM’s finances have been heavily impacted by the suspension of its international traffic for three months, from November 2021 until February 7, 2022, the source added. This drop in revenue is also explained by the dizzying rise in the price of kerosene (from $60 to $120) caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which began on February 24 last.

Faced with this situation, the government will grant a 2 billion dirham loan to RAM, the minister announced. "It is taking into account all these considerations that the State has released this aid, which should allow it to bear the weight of the estimated 2.7 billion dirham deficit until better days," concludes the same source.