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Inaugurated on the 26th of October 2017, the flight linking Paris to Dakhla is to be stopped by April. The information has gone viral on the internet, especially on Twitter, after several clients couldn’t book flights for the new season.
Questions were raised regarding the ending of the route created in partnership with the Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT). Le Desk, for instance, pointed out that this decision might be linked to the complaint pledged by the Polisario Front on October the 25th right before its inauguration.
By calling Transavia’s customer service, Yabiladi managed to confirm that indeed the flight to Morocco’s southern city is to be stopped by the end of the current month. On the phone, Transavia’s travel assistant assured that the route was a «winter one» and that the low cost airline operates this kind of flights only during the cold season.
A winter time flight
Indeed, the same thing was confirmed by the ONMT when questioned by Yabiladi. In a communiqué issued Wednesday, the Office explained that it signed a contract with the Dutch airline company to «create a route linking Paris and Dakhla for the 2017-2018 winter season, from October the 29th 2017 to March 24th, 2018v.
In the same communiqué, the Moroccan National Tourism Office even called the line «positive», adding that negotiations are underway between the two parties to «renew the flight for the next winter season, mainly 2018-2019». And to explain as to why the route was to operate only during winter, the Office stated that «European tourists tend to opt for sunny destinations for their winter holidays», adding that the route «has managed to meet the demand for the city at this time all while boosting its status as a destination».
On the other hand, Transavia commented on the ending of the Paris-Dakhla flight through its official French-language account on Twitter. «Hello ! For your information, we do not serve Dakhla during the spring. It will be necessary to wait until April to know our next and possible dates for similar flights».
Bonjour ! Pour votre information, nous ne desservons pas Dakhla pendant les beux jours. Il faudra patienter avril pour connaitre nos prochaines et éventuelles dates de vol. Je vous conseille de vous abonner à nos newsletters depuis notre page d'accueil.
— Transavia France (@transaviaFR) 7 mars 2018
Reference to the Polisario
None of the two parties, namely ONMT and Transavia, have made any reference to the Polisario front. They have both explained why the Dakhla-Paris flight was stopped without pointing out the connection of neither the separatist movement nor the complaint it filed months ago.
However, it must be said that after the Court of Justice of the European Union issued its ruling on the 27th of February regarding the fisheries agreement concluded between the European Union and Morocco, MEPs launched a campaign against the EU-Morocco Air Transport Agreement.
A few days ago, some MEPs known for backing the Polisario front, have urged the European Commission to specify the scope of application of the abovementioned agreement, referring to Western Sahara.
