Only special repatriation flights from Morocco are now authorized, particularly to France, subject to case-by-case approval by the Moroccan authorities.
Morocco extended this Friday, December 24 until the end of January the closure of its air borders, in force since November 29, to fight against the spread of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19. This closure was initially due to expire on December 31, but the National Airports Office (ONDA) announced the “extension of the suspension of all passenger flights from and to Morocco until January 31, 2022”.
Morocco ended Thursday the device to repatriate its nationals stranded abroad and extended the state of health emergency until January 31, 2022, in the face of the rapid spread of the new variant. On December 13, the Moroccan authorities had allowed “on an exceptional basis” to Moroccans held abroad to return to their country via Portugal, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
However, they decided to stop these return operations from Thursday, due to the resurgence of the epidemic in Morocco, de facto closing the borders of the kingdom.
First cases of contamination due to Omicron
Only special repatriation flights from Morocco are now authorized, in particular to France, subject to case-by-case approval by the Moroccan authorities. The Moroccan government has already banned all New Year’s celebrations and reinstated a nighttime curfew, as the kingdom recorded its first cases of contamination from the Omicron variant.
Festivals and major cultural and artistic events have also been banned since the beginning of the month. These restrictions hit the tourism, hotel and catering industry hard, a vital sector for the kingdom’s economy.
