Morocco’s national carrier Royal Air Maroc (RAM) and El Al Israeli Airlines signed a Code Share agreement in Tel Aviv on Monday, following RAM’s inaugural direct flight between Casablanca and the Israeli capital a day prior, Moroccan media reported.
“This ceremony, organized on the sidelines of Royal Air Maroc’s inaugural flight between Casablanca and Tel Aviv, was chaired by Hamid Addou, Chairman and CEO of the Moroccan Company and Avigal Soreq, CEO of the Israeli company,” said a press statement shared by the state-owned official news agency Maghreb Arab Press (MAP).
Israeli airlines Israir and El Al launched direct commercial flights from Tel Aviv to the Moroccan touristic capital Marrakech last year. Meanwhile, RAM has decided to delay its December-scheduled launch due to the pandemic travel restrictions in Morocco.
Moroccan and Israeli officials hailed the flight as “a historical moment” that will “reconnect Moroccan Jews to their families in Israel.”
Unlike other Arab countries, Morocco has always allowed Israeli passport holders to enter the kingdom, because of the large Jewish Moroccan community living in Israel.
In 2020, Morocco officially normalized ties with Israel in exchange for US recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara.
