Morocco’s national carrier is looking to bolster its fleet + add new routes

Royal Air Maroc is finalizing steps to acquire new long- and medium-haul aircraft ahead of an anticipated spike in Morocco’s tourism, Bloomberg reported. The national carrier is also angling to expand its network and add “many new routes” to destinations in Africa, Europe, and the Americas, Royal Air Maroc CEO Abdelhamid Addou told Bloomberg.

A bolstered fleet is pivotal to realizing the carrier’s ambition of going global, Addou said. It is also key to achieving Morocco’s full potential as a target for tourists and to expanding Air Maroc’s base at Casablanca into a transit hub for sub-Saharan traffic, which holds high promise, he explained.

Royal Air Maroc plans to fund its aircraft purchases through debt, Addou added, but declined to comment on whether this would involve a bond issuance. It is also unclear what proportion of the new aircraft and routes that are in the drawing books are slated for freight operations.