Casablanca – Air Arabia has inaugurated a new airbase at Rabat-Salé Airport, significantly expanding its flight network with the addition of new destinations, including Barcelona, Basel Mulhouse, Istanbul, Brussels, and Paris.

This strategic expansion allows Air Arabia to enhance its network with the introduction of direct flights to five major European and international destinations: Barcelona, Brussels, Paris, Basel Mulhouse, and Istanbul. The inauguration ceremony of this new base, held at Rabat Salé Airport, brought together numerous distinguished personalities, including Fatim-Zahra Ammor, Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts, and Social and Solidarity Economy, as well as several officials and ambassadors from various countries.

Minister Ammor emphasized that this new airbase will significantly enhance connectivity between Morocco’s capital and key European cities, especially Paris, Istanbul, and Brussels. “Rabat is experiencing a significant tourism boom,” stated Minister Ammor, noting the vital role of air connectivity in the Tourism Roadmap (2023-2026). She further committed to intensifying efforts with international airlines to reach the ambitious goal of attracting 17.5 million tourists by 2026.

Layla Mechbal, General Manager of Air Arabia in Morocco, highlighted the operational enhancements brought by the new base. “This facility will allow us to launch 14 international flights weekly and increase our domestic flights on the Rabat-Agadir route to seven per week,” she said. The international flight plan includes five weekly flights to Paris (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday), three to Barcelona (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), two to Brussels (Monday, Friday), two to Basel Mulhouse (Tuesday, Saturday), and two to Istanbul (Thursday, Sunday).

The new base is set to invigorate Rabat-Salé Airport, which has seen substantial growth, according to Tayeb Meziane, Head of Operations at the airport. Meziane reported that the airport handled 484,890 passengers in the first four months of this year, a 35% increase compared to the same period in 2023. To accommodate this growth, a new terminal is under construction, aiming to boost the airport’s capacity to 4 million passengers annually.

Currently, Rabat-Salé Airport offers services through seven airlines: Royal Air Maroc, Air Arabia in Morocco, Ryanair, Air France, TUI fly Belgium, Transavia France, and EasyJet. These airlines operate 115 weekly flights, connecting the airport with 21 international destinations including Paris Orly, Madrid, Marseille, Brussels, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Charleroi, Montpellier, Barcelona, Basel, Istanbul, Malaga, Seville, Rome Ciampino, Paris Beauvais, Toulouse, Düsseldorf Weeze, London Stansted, Nice, Lyon, Nantes, and Geneva. Additionally, there are domestic flights linking Rabat with Agadir and Errachidia.

This expansion reflects Air Arabia’s commitment to enhancing travel options and supporting Morocco’s broader tourism and economic goals. The new airbase is poised to play an important role in increasing tourist arrivals and facilitating easier travel for both residents and visitors.