Ryanair Challenges Royal Air Maroc in Morocco’s Open Skies Policy

For Simon Calder, a correspondent for Independent, Morocco is a "visionary" country. To support his argument, he highlights the promotion of low-cost domestic flights, and above all the opening of the Moroccan sky to competition. "I’m currently looking online for a flight with 24 hours’ notice. I could take a 80-minute express flight from Tangier to Marrakech, for the equivalent of £36. That’s not bad for a last-minute flight." His neighbor, Algeria, offers equally interesting offers on the slightly shorter route between its two main cities, Algiers and Oran, on Air Algérie. In contrast, domestic flights in Egypt are generally three times more expensive.

Unlike many African countries like Tunisia, Morocco has opened its skies to competition. The kingdom has authorized Ryanair to operate domestic flights in the kingdom. The Irish low-cost airline now serves 12 Moroccan cities for 175 different routes and 1,100 flights per week in high season, and makes no secret of its desire to challenge the national airline Royal Air Maroc RAM and Air Arabia Maroc. "We have a long history here in Morocco," says Eddie Wilson, the CEO of Ryanair DAC, the main company in the Irish group. Arrived on the market in 2006, with flights from Europe only, Ryanair now has its fourth base in Tangier, in the far north of the country.

The development of Africa will also pass through the opening of its skies to foreign airlines offering low-cost air tickets. "Cheap and safe flights could help realize the potential of a continent ravaged by colonialism and corruption," says the author of the article. "It all comes down to an open sky," explains Eddie Wilson. "The freedom to fly without restriction is a rare thing in Africa." And he insists: "If we want to develop elsewhere in Africa, it has to be an open sky."