Second repatriation flight from Morocco set to take off

A second repatriation flight bringing Dutch citizens from Morocco to the Netherlands is scheduled to leave from Casablanca on Wednesday evening. The flight, which follows more than a week on from the previous repatriation effort, is set to carry around 300 passengers.

It was expected to arrive at Schiphol Airport early Thursday morning. According to the Moroccan-Dutch association SMN, there will be around 2,400 Dutch people still stranded in Morocco after the second repatriation flights.

The group expressed their concern on behalf of the Dutch citizens stranded in the North African nation as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, asserting that many "are deprived of medication, are at risk of losing their income and/or are without financial resources".

"What will the Dutch government do to improve this, for many, hopeless situation?" the SMN pondered in a statement.

According to Minister of Foreign Affairs Stef Blok, while the government has a "commitment to get all Dutch people from Morocco", he asserts that the Moroccan government has made it difficult to do so by strictly controlling the flight routes which remain operational.