Direct Flights Launched Between Israel, Morocco

As of Sunday morning, Israelis can take a direct flight to Marrakesh, Morocco. Israel’s flagship El Al airlines and the budget Israir airlines inaugurated their first Morocco-bound flights on Sunday. The airlines’ lounges and airplanes were festooned with Moroccan flags for the occasion. The direct flights come after Morocco and Israel normalized relations in December 2020. The Israeli Arkia airline will begin running flights to Morocco early next month, and the Moroccan national carrier Royal Air Maroc will begin flights to Israel next month. Sunday’s flights were the start of regular commercial service between the two countries. In late December, the first-ever commercial flight between Israel and the Moroccan capital, Rabat, carried Israeli and American officials, including Jared Kushner, who was a senior adviser to then-President Donald Trump. The route is expected to be well-traveled: About a million Jews of Moroccan origin live in Israel.