Irish airline Ryanair inaugurated on Tuesday a new route between Ouarzazate and London, which will operate at the rate of two flights a week as part of its 2023 summer program.

The inaugural flight of this new service, carried out with a Boeing 737 aircraft with a capacity of 180 seats, landed at Ouarzazate airport from the capital of the United Kingdom. A ceremony was held on this occasion in the presence of several local officials.

The commander of Ouarzazate airport, Ahmed Sajib, stressed that this new service strengthens the air leases offered from this airport platform to international destinations in the European continent.

He said in a statement to MAP that this is the second new international air link inaugurated at Ouarzazate airport in a few days, after the one launched on Sunday to Barcelona.

These two new air links, inaugurated through the efforts of several stakeholders and actors involved, will undoubtedly have a positive impact on tourism activity in the province of Ouarzazate, said Sajib.

The opening of this route is part of the strategy of the Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT) and national and international airlines to increase the number of foreign tourists in Morocco, promote the tourism sector and take advantage of the strategic geographical location of Morocco, he stressed.

For his part, Said Amrani, vice-president of the Ouarzazate Provincial Tourism Council (CPT), welcomed the efforts that led to the creation of this new airline, adding that this link will undoubtedly contribute to boosting the tourism sector.

In February, the ONMT announced an extended program involving eight Moroccan tourist destinations to help them prepare for the summer season. The ONMT has thus encouraged the opening of 35 new routes with 10 airlines for the 2023 summer season.