The Moroccan government has decided to reopen its airspace from February 7 for flights to and from the country, after more than two months of closure, according to a statement released Thursday, January 27 evening by the Moroccan News Agency ( map)
→ CONTEXT. Faced with the Omicron variant, Morocco closes its borders
“This decision comes in accordance with the legal provisions relating to the management of the state of health emergency and following the recommendations of the scientific and technical commission and taking into account the evolution of the epidemiological situation in the kingdom”, details the press release. The government also extended Thursday, January 27, the state of health emergency in force since 2020, throughout the territory, until February 28.
Tourism industry hit hard
The border closures have hit the tourism, hotel and catering industry hard, a vital sector for the kingdom’s economy. Despite the announcement of a two billion dirham (190 million euro) tourism support plan, tourist operators demonstrated on Wednesday across the kingdom to demand the reopening of borders.
→ READ. Covid-19: in Morocco, the tourism sector in agony
Many Moroccans had been stranded abroad since November 29 due to the outbreak of the Omicron variant, leading to strong protests. Especially since some private jet companies operated connections to Morocco at exorbitant prices – more than €10,000 per passenger for a one-way ticket.
Contamination peak
If the peak of contaminations with the Omicron variant seems to have been reached during the week of January 17 to 23, according to the Ministry of Health, the authorities are nevertheless worried about an increase in cases in intensive care. With its 36 million inhabitants, the Maghreb country relies on its vaccination campaign and the “national solidarity” to stem the epidemic: more than 23 million people received a second dose of vaccine. The authorities’ objective is to immunize 80% of the population, or 30 million people, with the Sinopharm and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines.
→ REPORT. Morocco introduces a vaccination pass, a first in Africa
Morocco has already started production of more than three million doses of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine each month. This monthly production should reach five million doses from next month and more than 20 million by the end of 2022.