Royal Air Maroc Fills Void Left by Air France in Niger’s Airspace

"Royal Air Maroc resumed very late otherwise there would have been a lot of traffic because there are a lot of Nigerien students who had to return or resume classes in Morocco. The demand was very strong," explains Adam Amadou Diallo, Country Manager of Cronos Airlines Benin, to the website Le360. RAM operates flights between Niamey and Casablanca in particular. Travel agencies work with the national airline to facilitate the travel of Nigerien students to Morocco.

"We work more with the company Royal Air Maroc which has a direct flight to Morocco, a really serious company because the majority of students who take this company do not have any problem with lost luggage unlike other companies," says Sani Amadou, promoter of the ADA Niger agency, an orientation agency that assists young people in having more opportunities for international studies, also welcoming the reopening of the Nigerien air borders. "The fact that things have eased up and the authorities have decided to reopen the borders to allow citizens to go about their business is already a very good thing," he said, hailing a salutary decision.

On September 4, Niger had reopened its airspace for commercial flights. This airspace was closed on August 6 due to "the threat of intervention that is looming from neighboring countries". The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had threatened military intervention to restore elected President Mohamed Bazoum, overthrown in a coup d’état on July 26. France does not recognize the legitimacy of the junta in power, and relations between Paris and Niamey have cooled to the point that Niger bans its airspace to all French aircraft, including those of the Air France fleet. A measure that certainly benefits companies like Royal Air Maroc (RAM).