Spain prepares transferring Sahara airspace management to Morocco

Spain is mulling transferring the management of the airspace of the Sahara territory to Morocco, ending one of the last relics of Spanish colonial rule in the area.

Spanish media El Confidentiel and OK Diario reported the news, citing that the decision entails Morocco opening customs with two Spanish-occupied enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla.

Discussions over the Sahara airspace began in March 2023, according to OK Diario, as relations improved between the two neighborly countries following Spain’s support for Morocco’s sovereignty and autonomy plan in the Sahra territory.

Moroccan officials have not confirmed the news. Morocco has already demarcated its Sahara maritime borders in 2020 and said negotiations are ongoing with Spain on overlaps.

In his visit earlier this month, Sanchez met King Mohammed VI in Rabat where he reiterated Madrid’s steady position in support of the autonomy plan as the “the most serious, realistic and credible basis” to end the Sahara dispute.