“We didn’t realize that Morocco was locking down or that the suspension of flights coming into Morocco meant that there would be no more flights out of Morocco either.” “We weren’t super freaked out until we got off the plane in Rabat,” King Freedman said.
When the pair landed in Morocco that afternoon, they turned on their cellphones to a text from their program coordinator informing them that they would likely need to leave that night because Morocco had suspended all air travel. Because Morocco had not yet banned all incoming flights, Schneiderhan and King Freedman were able to reroute their return trip through Lisbon and successfully departed Portugal for Rabat on Monday, Nov. The Moroccan government instituted the ban due to concerns about the spread of Covid-19 and the new Omicron variant.Ībby Schneiderhan ’23 and Eliza King Freedman ’23 were visiting Paris to celebrate Thanksgiving when Morocco instituted a ban on direct flights from France starting Nov. 28 that Morocco was about to halt all incoming flights, three Middlebury students - who had been taking classes in the country during the fall 2021 semester - faced the urgent decision whether to find a flight out of the country within the day or to stay in Morocco and hope the travel shutdown would not extend beyond the original two weeks. You can read more about that one here.Upon learning on Sunday, Nov. It must be the season! Also be aware that on August 25 another major strike is planned affecting five FIRs in Western Africa, along with another over Madagascar in the east. We also reached out directly to the Moroccan CAA, but so far *crickets*. On August 1, Eurocontrol advised the strike was imminent but also noted that the GMMM Notams were conspicuously quiet. The nature of industrial action is that it can be hard to predict until it actually happens. Right now it’s just a “potential” strike. We’ve also written this article which may also help.
#Morocco incoming flights full#
You can read a full briefing on the situation here. The risk to overflights in the upper flight levels is very low, but take extra care if planning for diversions or emergencies. Anti-aircraft weaponry has previously been identified as a possible threat to low flying aircraft below FL200.
Despite being quiet in the news lately, there is a long running conflict happening there. Something to be aware of first – there are still active airspace warnings in place for this disputed territory. If you’re hoping to avoid the hold-ups in the GMMM/Casablanca FIR, you may be tempted to route further south over the Western Saharan region. You can reach them at or on +212 537 67 94 07. To ask for it, you’ll need to contact the CAA directly. This will be by prior approval only though. You will also be able to get special handling permission by including ‘STS/AFTMX’ in Item 18 of your flight plan to get around the restrictions. And if you experience an emergency, of course you’ll be allowed in asap. Aircraft engaged in state, RFF, medevac or humanitarian ops will be exempt. There will be limited exemptions, but they won’t apply to most operations.
In each case, only two aircraft will be allowed depart each hour.Īll of Morocco’s major airports (along with others) will be restricted to two departures per hour throughout. Trickle effect at airports.Īll major airports in Morocco will be affected by heavy restrictions on aircraft movements. If the strike goes ahead, only one aircraft per hour will be allowed through each entry point to the GMMM/Casablanca FIR. If you want to come in, you had better get in line. Here’s our breakdown of what it says, along with some nice pictures. It’s all found in this letter written by the union responsible. On average Moroccan airspace services over a thousand flights a day, and ATC want to put the brakes on hard. While it will not be a complete walk-out, the airspace may be heavily restricted – a busy air corridor linking Western Europe to Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. Similar strikes elsewhere typically last just hours or at worst a day or two. News broke last week that Moroccan ATC are threatening to strike for a full two weeks from August 3 – 18, and it will affect the entire GMMM/Casablanca FIR.
#Morocco incoming flights update#
Update 1500z Aug 3:And bam! Just like that, the ATC strike in Morocco is cancelled! There’s no more info yet, but normal ops now expected for the whole period Aug 3-18.
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