Royal Air Maroc took off from Morocco’s economic capital Casablanca bound for Tel Aviv on Sunday, in the carrier's first direct flight to Israel since the two countries normalized ties in 2020.
Aviation sources and local media sources said a Moroccan business delegation was on the inaugural flight, delayed by three months because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The visit was originally set for December, but the outbreak of the omicron coronavirus variant led to its postponement.
RAM’s first flight to Israel was set for Dec. 12, 2021, but it was postponed for the same reason. It has since been rescheduled to March 13.
The carrier is to fly four times a week between Casablanca and Tel Aviv and will then expand them to five.
Two Israeli airlines launched their first commercial flights to Morocco’s Marrakesh in July, less than a year after the countries officially normalized relations.
Israir's flight departed Tel Aviv for Marrakesh with around 100 Israeli tourists, the company said, hours before Israeli national carrier El Al dispatched its first direct flight to the same destination.
Flights are scheduled from Casablanca every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday while flights from Tel Aviv to Casablanca are scheduled every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, RAM said.
Tel Aviv and Rabat agreed to normalize relations in late 2020 as part of the US-brokered “Abraham Accords.”
Morocco was among four Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
As part of the deal, the US agreed to recognize Morocco’s claim to the long-disputed Western Sahara region.
Morocco is home to the largest Jewish community in North Africa, with around 3,000 people.
