During the summer of 2023, Royal Air Maroc is expanding its European network by adding destinations that have a significant Moroccan diaspora.
The airline aims to provide nearly 6.2 million seats during the travel period, which is an increase of about 10% compared to summer 2022 and almost 92% of the capacity offered in summer 2019. Out of the total seats, over 2.3 million will be available on European routes that will link 11 Moroccan airports to 34 European cities.
From Morocco to the United Kingdom
As a part of its European expansion plans for summer 2023, Royal Air Maroc will introduce a new route to London Gatwick.
Royal Air Maroc is launching a new route from Tangier, a port city located on the Mediterranean Sea, to London Gatwick. Starting from June 24, 2023, and running twice a week until Sept. 2, the service will be operated by Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
This new route will directly compete with Air Arabia Maroc, which currently holds the monopoly for nonstop flights between Tangier and London Gatwick.
Additionally, Ryanair also operates in the broader Tangier-London market through a link from London Stansted that commenced in March 2022.
According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, the number of weekly two-way seats between the two cities will increase to approximately 2,400 once Royal Air Maroc launches its new route, up from around 1,000 before the pandemic.
From Tangier to Barcelona
Apart from the London launch, Royal Air Maroc is also restoring its services from Tangier (TNG) to Barcelona (BCN) and Madrid (MAD) this summer. The airline, which is a member of the OneWorld alliance, had previously operated flights to these Spanish cities until November 2014, after which it paused the service for almost six years.
Flights from Morocco to Spanish Barcelona resumed in September 2020, while Madrid flights resumed in December 2020, with regular services running until March 2022. Since then, both routes have been suspended.
As per the aviation analytics resources, flights from Tangier to Barcelona and Madrid will recommence from June 24 and will operate three times a week, using 737-800 aircraft.
Nador-Madrid by Royal Air Maroc
Royal Air Maroc plans to launch a new route from Nador in northeastern Morocco to Madrid, along with resuming its service to Barcelona, which was suspended for 13 months. Starting from June 24 and June 25, respectively, the MAD and BCN routes will operate twice a week with 737-800s.
After the launch, the airline will compete with Air Arabia Maroc, Iberia, and Ryanair on the Madrid sector, and with Air Arabia Maroc and Ryanair on the Barcelona route.
Oujda-Dusseldorf route
Starting from summer 2023, a new European route will be launched, connecting Dusseldorf in Germany to Oujda, located in northeast Morocco near the Algerian border. Flights on this route will operate twice a week on 737-800s, beginning on June 28. This new route will indirectly compete with Ryanair, which currently operates flights from Dusseldorf Weeze to Oujda.
Royal Air Maroc has also announced an increase in flight frequencies from Casablanca to Barcelona, Bologna, Brussels, Madrid, Malaga, and Milan, with two daily flights now available for each destination.
