Morocco to allow flights to NL for stranded Dutch

Morocco declared its willingness to allow some commercial flights to bring Netherlands residents home in the short term. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that this was the outcome of a conversation between Dutch ambassador Jeroen Roodenburg and the Moroccan Foreign Ministry.

"Further details are not yet available but will be announced by the relevant airlines as soon as possible," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Twitter.

Morocco banned flights to and from the Netherlands from Wednesday night because the number of coronavirus cases in our country is rising rapidly. The ban also applies to Germany and the United Kingdom.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised travelers to and from Morocco on Wednesday to find another route as soon as possible. Traveling via "other countries close to the Netherlands," such as Belgium, is still possible.

It is not known precisely how many people are affected by the flight ban. About 3,500 people flew to Morocco with the airline Transavia in recent days. A spokesperson could not say how many of them are still there.

Transavia will look on Friday at how many flights the company can perform to pick up Netherlands residents stranded in Morocco. The company will likely also announce when those flights can start later today.

A spokesperson for Transavia is happy that a solution will be found for the Netherlands residents in Morocco. "We heard from the embassy and already knew that talks were underway, but now we have to wait for the details of the agreements." Transavia is already making plans but can only provide a definitive answer once there is more clarity about what exactly Morocco will allow.