Marrakech: update on the opening of borders

On the Moroccan side: trends, but no official announcement

No official announcement has yet been made by the Moroccan government on the reopening of the borders, closed since mid-March.

Ready for July?

However, several indicators let hope for a reopening in July.

The lifting of the state of health emergency is, for its part, set for July 10, a key date from which the containment relief measures (phase 3) and the decisions to open the land, air and shipping could be announced.

Among the positive signals, several airlines have recently opened new flights to Morocco, advancing the dates in their planning to July.

In Marrakech, for example, Transavia has just relaunched direct, daily flights with Paris from July 13.

And the contamination figures which are on the rise again? Is this worrying?

The Minister of Health assures us that not, recalling that these indicators result from the number of screening tests which are increasing day by day.

Finally, if nothing is known about the specific measures intended to limit the spread of the virus and the protection of the health of Moroccans that could be imposed at the time of the reopening of borders (screening, limitation of travel), the observation of the results obtained in other Mediterranean countries already open, such as Tunisia, will provide Morocco with initial indicators.

Or will we have to wait until September?

Some media, including ecos.ma, recently quoted parliamentary sources as assuring that it would be better to wait until September 1 for a calm reopening of the borders. A clarification that suggests how difficult the decision is to take ...

What about internal thefts?

Since June 25, domestic flights have resumed. Royal Air Maroc and Air Arabia offer several connections between Agadir, Casablanca, Dakhla, Essaouira, Fez, Marrakech, Nador, Rabat and Tangier.

And if travelers can move freely between cities in zone 1, they still need professional authorization or an authorization issued by local authorities to travel between zones 1 and 2.