3.000 turistas españoles atrapados en Marruecos tras el anuncio del cierre de las fronteras

On the eve of the Easter holidays, Morocco announced the suspension of flights with France and Spain. In a communiqué, the Kingdom of Morocco informed that, as part of the preventive measures taken to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, passenger flights to and from the French Republic and Spain would be suspended from midnight on 30 March 2021 until further notice.

This announcement has caught thousands of Spaniards by surprise, who had already scheduled their trip or were already in the country on holiday, as well as thousands of Moroccans who intended to return to their country for Ramadan. In view of this decision, the Royal Air Maroc airline on Tuesday intensified its connections with France and Spain for travellers wishing to return to their countries of origin.

Likewise, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Spanish Embassy in Morocco have already announced that a ferry of the company 'Balearia' will be available for next Sunday, April 4, between Tangier and Algeciras, for all those residents in Spain and nationals who want to return to Spanish territory.  

In an interview with OndaCero, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, confirmed that the border closure between Morocco and Spain has left more than 3,000 tourists in Moroccan territory. "In these times of such uncertainty at the borders and in the conditions of access to other countries, the best thing to do is to abstain from travelling, that is the most prudent thing to do", she stressed.

Morocco has experienced an increase in the number of cases caused by COVID-19. The head of the communicable diseases division at the Directorate of Epidemiology and Disease Control, Abdelkrim Meziane Bellefquih, noted that cases have increased by 6.4% over the past two weeks, marking the fourth consecutive week of increase. "This is a development that requires greater vigilance and respect for preventive measures to maintain the gains," Bellefquih explained.

In the fight against the pandemic, the Moroccan authorities have again extended the restrictions that have been in place since January, such as the night-time curfew, capacity limits in shops and cafés, and the need for authorisation to travel between the country's cities, for another two weeks.

Since the first reported case in March 2020, Morocco has recorded a total of 494,756 reported cases, including 8,807 deaths, according to data recorded in the ministry's daily bulletin. Spain and France, meanwhile, are among the ten countries most affected by the pandemic worldwide, with more than 3.2 million and 4.6 million cases, respectively.

In a separate statement, the Spanish Foreign Ministry has also advised all nationals and residents in Spain to leave the country as soon as possible, making use of available flights out of Myanmar. It is reported that in the coming days and weeks episodes of violence in the country's main cities, and especially in Yangon, are expected to continue to escalate significantly.

On the other hand, Spaniards and residents in Morocco also have other possibilities for returning to Spain using transit flights in third countries with which the skies are open.

Specifically, passengers can return to Spain via other connections from Casablanca to Dakar (Senegal) or Nouakchott (Mauritania), and from there fly to Spain.

In addition, the president of the Moroccan government, Saadedin Otmani, said in a tweet yesterday that, despite the suspension of flights to Spain and France, "exceptional flights will be maintained in case of need".