Ryanair inks five-year deal for flights to Morocco, bringing more rivalry on flights between Europe, North African country.

Ryanair, Europe’s leading low fares airline, announced Thursday that it had signed a five-year agreement with the Moroccan government to fly to the North African country after six months of negotiations with Rabat.

The deal will allow the Irish carrier to develop low-cost air access and tourism to Morocco from Ryanair's bases throughout Europe, it said in a statement.

The agreement, which begins this month, covers most of the regional airports in Morocco and involves Ryanair’s commitment to establish up to 20 routes, carrying almost one million passengers per annum by the end of the five year period.

Ryanair’s Deputy Chief Executive, Michael Cawley said in a statement in Rabat: “We are delighted to make this joint announcement with the Government of Morocco. This represents a singularly important initiative in the development of tourism and business for the country. The Government has recognised that low cost air access is a growth vehicle for tourism throughout Europe and by joining the Open Skies regime and embracing Europe’s leading low fares airline, the Government in Morocco has made a clear statement about its intentions to develop its tourism industry in the next five years.

“Our low fares will also help expatriate Moroccans to see their families more often and facilitate local businesses in accessing markets with low fare routes including those already announced to both Frankfurt and Marseille.

“Ryanair will be making many more new route announcements in Morocco over the coming months and years as we build on the solid basis which this long term agreement provides. I congratulate the Government of Morocco on this initiative and look forward to working successfully with it to develop its tourism and other business.”

The announcement is good news for both expatriate Moroccans and the country’s tourism.

Ryanair, besides low-cost airlines easyjet and Atlas Blue, will bring increased competition on flights between Europe and Morocco, providing low cost access for hundreds of thousands of expatriate Moroccans and foreign tourists alike for business and leisure purposes.

The influx of low cost airlines is in line with Moroccan government’s ambitious “Vision-2010" strategy which is meant to attract 10 million tourists by 2010 in a bid to boost its tourism industry.

Ryanair's chief rival, British no-frills airline easyJet, is to launch its flights to the Moroccan holiday resort of Marrakech in July.

Morocco is an attractive tourist destination thanks to its mesmerizing cultural heritage and distinctive natural beauty, from snow-capped mountains to fascinating beaches to the desert’s huge golden sand dunes, as well as a hot climate all year round.

source: middle-east-online.com