EU excludes Sahara from agreement with Morocco

The European Commission excludes Western Sahara from the air transport agreement with Morocco. A clarification made by Apóstolos Tzitzikóstas, European Commissioner for Transport and Sustainable Tourism, in his response to a written question asked by MEP Lynn Boylan (from the Left Group).

“At the 3 December meeting of the Consultative Forum on EU External Aviation Policy, the Commission informed EU carriers that, in line with the case law of the Court of Justice of the Union European Union, the Euro-Mediterranean air agreement between the EU and Morocco does not apply to air connections from the territory of an EU Member State to the territory of Western Sahara,” explained this Monday the Commissioner Tzitzikostas.

Yesterday, the airline Ryanair launched its route between Madrid and Dakhla. The three Spaniards expelled by the Moroccan authorities were on board this inaugural flight.

As a reminder, Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson visited Dakhla airport last November. A trip denounced by the Polisario. Currently, Transavia, a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM group, and the Spanish company Binter operate flights to Laayoune and Dakhla, respectively from Paris and the Canary Islands.