Air Arabia Maroc to launch new subsidized domestic flights to 4 Moroccan cities
Starting October 30, low-cost airline Air Arabia will be subsidized to link Tangier with four other Moroccan cities.
Recently, the Tangier-Tetouan Al Hoceima Regional Council approved four partnership agreements for the establishment of direct flights connecting Tangier to Agadir, Marrakech, Fez and Nador, a city in northeast Morocco.
The members of the council unanimously approved the agreements, which involve the region’s council, Air Arabia Maroc, and the regional councils of Souss-Massa (covering Agadir), Marrakech-Safi, Fez-Meknes and eastern Morocco (covering Nador).
The agreement spans a three-year period (2018-2021).
The agreements commit an annual expenditure of nearly MAD 25.68 million to offer plane tickets of no more than MAD 300.
The agreements aim to reinforce Tangier’s air connections to other regions of Morocco to promote the economic, social, and tourist development of the region.
According to Maghreb Arab Press (MAP), the agreements also seek to develop the tourism sector and create job opportunities in the region.
Tangier and Agadir’s councils provided a budget of MAD 6 million to subsidize Air Arabia’s weekly flights.
The Tangier-Marrakech flight required an MAD 9.6 million subsidy. Both regions financed the agreement. The company will offer three flights per week.
The Tangier-Fez flight will operate twice a week and received an MAD 4.92 million subidy.
The Tangier-Nador flight will also operate twice a week and receive an MAD 5.16 million subsidy.
According to MAP, the agreements stipulate that ticket prices, which are set to the benchmark price of Brent oil ($60), may be increased with changing oil prices. Each 5 percent increase in the price of oil will allow a 2 percent increase in the ticket price.
Air Arabia Maroc, headquartered in Casablanca, is a member of the Air Arabia group. It was launched in April 2009. The airline is Morocco’s leading low-cost carrier (LCC).
In June, Air Arabia Maroc added a new round-trip domestic service connecting Casablanca and Nador. The airline opened its first Moroccan domestic flight connecting Fez and Marrakech in June 2017.
