Israel’s Ministry of Transport announced on Sunday that discussions are underway with Rabat to resume direct flights between the two countries, more than two years after their suspension, following the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
According to a statement quoted by the Israeli news outlet JNS, Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev held talks with her Moroccan counterpart, Minister of Transport and Logistics Abdessamad Kayouh, during which both sides agreed to take the necessary steps to relaunch the air route in the coming months.
The ministry added that the flights will be operated by Israel’s national carrier El Al, as part of efforts to revive the country’s aviation sector and reestablish Tel Aviv as a key international travel hub after years of disruption.
Yoni Waxman, Deputy Chairman of Israel’s Ophir Tours, told JNS that the resumption of the Morocco-Israel air link is expected to attract strong demand, noting that “Israeli travelers are eager to return to Morocco, which was among the most popular destinations before the war.”
The Israeli outlet highlighted that around one million Jews of Moroccan descent live in Israel, while 200,000 Israeli tourists visited Morocco in 2022 before flights were halted amid the Gaza conflict.
Israel and Morocco normalized relations in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, which opened the door for cooperation in transport, tourism, and trade, including the launch of direct air routes between the two countries.
The revival of these flights is expected to boost Morocco’s tourism sector, particularly among Moroccan Jews who travel to visit their ancestral homeland and Jewish pilgrimage sites, including the tombs of revered rabbis buried in the Kingdom.
Before the war, tourism experts had projected a steady increase in Israeli arrivals to Morocco. However, the outbreak of the Gaza conflict interrupted this upward trend.
Tourism remains one of Morocco’s key economic drivers, with the Kingdom recording record arrivals in recent years. The sector is expected to reach 18 million visitors by the end of this year, consolidating Morocco’s position as one of Africa’s leading travel destinations.
