Morocco: RAM to Inaugurate First Beijing Direct Flight Thursday

Morocco’s national carrier Royal Air Maroc, RAM, will launch Thursday, Jan. 16, its first direct flight from Casablanca to Beijing, China.

The route will be served by B787-9 Dreamliner, of 302 seats including 26 in business class. The flight to depart from the Mohammed V airport in Casablanca will take 13 hours to reach the Chinese capital, on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Departures from Beijing are slated on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

China has become the leading tourist market in the world and Moroccan authorities hope to lure more Chinese tourists to the kingdom.

In 2016, Moroccan authorities decided to exempt Chinese nationals from visa requirements in a bid to bolster tourist arrivals. Two years later, 180,000 Chinese tourists visited the North African Kingdom. Chinese Tour operator C Trip had pledged to bring annually 500,000 Chinese tourists to Morocco.

Chinese business community is also targeted when RAM CEO Hamid Addou announced the direct route in September.

With the Beijing new service, RAM is expanding its destinations in the Asian continent. The national carrier currently serves Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon and Jordan.