Morocco controls 20% of Sahara airspace

Has the transfer of air traffic control of Western Sahara from Spain to Morocco been carried out discreetly? According to a Spanish media report, between 15% and 20% of the airspace is already under Rabat's control. This share has been obtained through «unilateral actions», laments El Independiente, citing «reliable sources» in Spain. «Morocco has resorted to establishing no-fly zones for so-called military exercises», thus gaining de facto authority over the area.

A report by ENAIRE (formerly Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea or AENA) explains that «Morocco, through unilateral decisions, has established four dangerous zones in the airspace» over the Sahara. «These are activated and deactivated by Morocco, without any coordination with» the Spanish side, specifically the air traffic control center in the Canary Islands, the same media source adds.

Thirty-two months after the opening of a new chapter in relations between the two countries, the Spanish government continues to approach this subject with caution, despite numerous oral and written questions from opposition parliamentarians and groups supporting the executive but sympathetic to the Polisario.

In his responses, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, confined himself to pointing out that «there is a point in the Joint Declaration (of April 7, 2022, editor's note) which is public and concerns the improvement of management, and this is what we are doing». Point 7 of the Moroccan-Spanish Joint Declaration, published after talks in Rabat between King Mohammed VI and Pedro Sánchez, announces that «discussions concerning airspace management will be initiated» between the two countries.