Ryanair Seeks Approval for Domestic Flights in Morocco, Challenging Local Airlines

The Irish low-cost carrier has already submitted an official request to the Moroccan government, according to a Moroccan government source and an airline official. The processing of the request is underway at the Directorate of Civil Aviation under the Ministry of Transport and Logistics. The decision of the Moroccan authorities is expected in the coming months, at least before March 2024, the period chosen by Ryanair to launch its first domestic flights in Morocco.

Currently, only Royal Air Maroc and Air Arabia Maroc operate domestic flights in Morocco, which represent 9.5% of the 21.6 million travelers who arrived in Morocco between January and October of this year, or 2 million passengers. The arrival of Ryanair will undoubtedly transform the domestic air transport market and stimulate competition in terms of price and quality, comments Zoubir Bouhoute, former president of the Regional Tourism Council of Ouarzazate.

Ryanair recently announced the launch of its largest flight program for the winter of 2023-2024 to Morocco, with 840 international flights per week, an increase of 20% compared to 2022. The company has just allocated a Boeing 737 Gamechanger to its fleet serving the Moroccan routes, bringing the number of aircraft dedicated to Moroccan lines to 12.

Tourism contributes about 7% to Morocco’s GDP. Over the first nine months of the year, tourism revenues reached 80 billion dirhams, up 24.8% from last year. Morocco is aiming for a record 14 million tourists this year, despite the September 8 earthquake, and plans to reach 20 million tourists by 2030, the year it co-hosts the World Cup with Spain and Portugal.