ZCZC
BFF-26
HEALTH-VIRUS-MOROCCO-TOURISM
Tourists flood Morocco airports as flights cut over virus fears
RABAT, March 15, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Thousands of tourists packed airports in
Morocco Sunday hoping to board scarce flights back to Europe after regular
air links with some 30 countries were suspended in response to the
coronavirus.
“There are flights, we are waiting at the counter. It is very tense,”
French traveller Sabrina told AFP by telephone from the southern tourist hub
of Marrakesh.
Morocco has suspended regular flights with some 30 countries affected by
the new coronavirus epidemic, including Italy, France, Spain, Germany, the
Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and Greece.
Flights to and from other destinations such as Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon and
Tunisia were also scrapped, as were sea links with European countries.
But France announced that Rabat had agreed to allow special repatriation
flights for its nationals.
“New flights are being organised to enable (stranded French tourists) to
return to France,” President Emmanuel Macron tweeted Saturday. The French
embassy, like other foreign missions, set up a special crisis cell and
received more than 7,000 messages on Twitter between Friday and Saturday from
tourists seeking assistance.
According to information provided by Moroccan airports and embassy
notifications, several other flights were heading out of the North African
country for Europe on Sunday.
The special repatriation flights were mostly headed to France, Belgium,
Spain and Germany.
This sparked a rush on ticket purchases online, witnesses told AFP.
Tourism accounts for 10 percent of Morocco’s GDP and is a key source of
foreign revenue in the country which last year had 13 million visitors.
Moroccan authorities have reported 18 cases of COVID-19, including one
death.
The country has taken a series of measures to contain the spread of the
virus, closing schools and universities, cancelling sporting and cultural
events and banning public gatherings of more than 50 people.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1758 hrs