COVID-19 Update: Travel Resumes to Morocco
We’re not journalists.
We’re surfers, running a surf school and surf camp in Morocco.
But in making sure you have a good surf experience in Taghazout Bay during a coronavirus pandemic challenges us to flex our investigative and journalistic muscles: We want to make sure you have the most up to date and accurate information when travelling to Morocco so you can have a hassle free surf trip.
On June 6, 2021 the Moroccan Ministry of Health and Foreign Affairs announced flights would be resuming on June 15, 2021. Shortly after Morocco World News, HesPress, and Le360 all published similar information regarding the resumption of flights and ferry lines to Morocco. We didn’t want to publish a blog post about it at the time because we wanted to wait until more information was released. Our skepticism was not unfounded as “Moroccan airspace is still closed” according to the same statement.
Of course, our website is not and never meant to replace information coming directly from government sources. So we strongly recommend that you double check all information with Moroccan Government websites, your local Moroccan consulates and embassies, reliable news sources, and the airline you’re flying with.
So here’s what we know:
42 Airlines have Resumed Flights to Morocco
As we mentioned earlier, Moroccan airspace is still technically closed but 42 airlines have resumed flights with “special permission.”
There was a little bit of debacle in the beginning with flights being overpriced. The King even had to step in and instruct airlines to make sure to offer a reasonable price for flights to Morocco, after all, they are meant to bring Moroccans abroad home. The demand for flights has been so high that Royal Air Maroc has added extra flights to “oversaturated routes”.
These “extra flights” have also consequently been sold out in record time, making us think that perhaps Morocco is a very desireable place to travel to at the moment.
Operation Marhaba 2021, But Tourists Are Welcome
The Moroccan government has an annual initiative to welcome home Moroccan Residents Living Abroad (MRE’s) called Operation Marhaba. Supposedly this is the reason why Morocco resumed air and sea travel to the country, but tourists and visitors are welcome from all countries.
Countries Fall Into Category A or B
Based on each country’s vaccination programme and epidemiological situation, the Moroccan government has divided countries into Category A or Category B.
If your country happens to be listed in Category B you’ll need authorization for exceptional circumstances prior to entry to Morocco. Visitors from List B will require a negative PCR test 48 hours prior to departure, a 10 day quarantine in a government designated hotel at the visitor’s expense, and another PCR test on Day 9 of quarantine.
The ONDA health form will still be required to be completed on arrival to Morocco. See below for the link.
PCR Test
Instead of listing all the countries part of the Category A list, the Moroccan government has simply stated “Those who are not in List B”.
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But great news if you’re fortunate to be from Category A and are NOT partially or fully vaccinated because you’re still able to travel to Morocco. Travellers from Category A are still required to provide a negative PCR test 48hr prior to departure and are required to fill out the ONDA health form and all contact details of where you’ll be for the first 10 days of your stay in Morocco.
This is so that if government officials require to contact you because of possible exposure to a positive COVID-19 case they can.
Vaccine Passport
Love or hate the idea of a vaccine passport, Morocco is implementing a vaccine passport for tourists and Moroccan nationals. This is doubly good news for those from Category A who have been fully vaccinated and are able to provide proof: No PCR test and no quarantine!
ONDA has published a list of vaccines accepted in Morocco and the ONDA Passenger Health form will still be required in full on arrival to Morocco (see below).
The COVID-19 Vaccine Passport will not only benefit visitors to Morocco but also for Moroccans and other visitors to travel around Morocco freely, regardless of the curfew. The Ministry of Health has also put together a video explaining how simple it is to get a vaccine passport in Morocco:
In a Tweet by Royal Air Maroc, the airline stated that the vaccine passport for COVID-19 is valid 2 weeks following the 2nd dose of the vaccine. The 2 week requirement is also found on the ONDA (Office National Des Aeroports) website.
However, the website for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the vaccine passport is valid from 4 weeks following the 2nd COVID-19 vaccine dose. Whether or not the website has been updated since June 7, it would be wise to err on the side of caution and wait those 2 extra weeks to ensure you can definitely make your next surf trip.
ONDA & Other Forms
The Office Nationale Des Aeroports (ONDA) requires passengers to fill out a Public Health Passenger Form, regardless if they arrive via airplane or ferry. The website states that these forms will be distributed onboard, but conflicting passenger accounts of the form not passed out on every flight makes us encourage you to have it printed and filled out in advance.
Prior to the suspension of flights to Morocco, it was required to have an official hotel booking prior to entry. A printed copy from Booking.com, AirBnB, or direct e-mail confirmation was sufficient to meet this requirement. However, in our search for complete entry requirements we couldn’t find anything stated that this was still a requirement. But to be on the safe side, it’s better to have this information with you upon your arrival. Of course, us at Local Surf Maroc will provide you with confirmation once you’ve completed your booking with us.
Travel, Arrival, & Stay
For your arrival and stay in Morocco, public health measures such as wearing a facemask during your flight, in the airport and other indoor spaces, maintaining a 1.5m distance, hand washing and other public health measures are still in place.
Despite the easing of restrictions around Morocco, the country is still in a State of Emergency which was extended to July 10. While some restrictions during this period have been relaxed, such as the beaches, restaurants, cinemas opening, a curfew from 11pm to 5am is still enforced along with the previously mentioned health measures. Gatherings of up to 50 people are permitted indoors and 100 outdoors, giving us more and more a sense of normalcy here in Morocco.
Useful Moroccan Emergency numbers during your next Moroccan surf trip.
Returning Home
While we would love to update all our friends on what’s happening with travel to their own countries, we’d be here all day compiling a lexicon that would only have to be changed every other day in full. Though, offhand we know that the UK and EU have both put Morocco on their “amber” or “orange” list while the USA has put Morocco on a “low risk” list.
While we try to accommodate all of our guests and friends, travelling during this year might still be highly unpredictable. All we can do is recommend that you continuously check information from your airlines, embassies and consulates, and government websites.
That being said, we are feeling rather positive for the future. Even if things will only go back to “normal’ in 2022, as per some travel and government predictions. We’re already halfway through 2021, after all and day to day life in Morocco is already resembling pre-coronavirus times. Our intuition tells us that it won’t be much longer until we’re able to welcome everyone back freely.