African Arrival: airBaltic’s Airbus A220s Now Fly To Marrakesh, Morocco

AirBaltic launched its first route to Africa on the morning of October 31st. The route offers a connection between the airline’s central hub at Riga International Airport (RIX) and the Moroccan Marrakesh Menara Airport (RAK). The airline has launched the route as it anticipates high demand for leisure travel between the Baltic States and Morocco.

The new route was celebrated at the airport before departure. The inaugural celebration was attended by airline and airport executives. Not only does the route mark the airline’s official entry into the African air travel market, but it will also help bring the total number of destinations serviced by airBaltic to 50.

Leisure travel

The airline has launched this new route in hopes that it will be in high demand as travelers look to escape the frigid winter months. It has cited the African destination as offering convenient access for its customers to the Sahara Desert and the Atlas Mountains. It also shared that there are many places of interest in Marrakesh it hopes will attract customers. It hopes this will be the first of many routes it opens to the African continent as it continues to expand its route network offering leisure travelers access to more exotic destinations.

Photo: airBaltic

The Chief Operation Officer of airBaltic, Pauls Cālītis, has shared the company’s excitement for the new route and anticipation of steady demand for the route throughout the winter. Cālītis stated,

“We are excited to launch our first ever scheduled route to Africa. Marrakesh or the so called Pearl of the South is both an exotic and warm destination, and important centre of economics, also for Latvia. Moreover, it has plenty to offer for culture lovers as well. As the leading airline in the Baltics, we continue to build our network, adding more captivating leisure destinations also for the winter season.”

Route frequency

Passengers looking to travel between RIX and RAK on this new route can expect the flight to take 5 hours and 30 minutes. The flight will be operated on one of the airline’s beloved Airbus A220s. This route will be one of the longest operated on the young narrowbody aircraft. It will be flown twice per week with fares starting at 155 Euros.

Photo: airBaltic

Network expansion

A month ago, airBaltic announced plans to open 18 more routes connecting the Baltic States with additional destinations across Europe. Several of these routes have been previously operated by the air carrier and are being reopened. In total, it will open 18 more routes, all scheduled to commence operations next summer.

The airline will open 10 new routes from its central hub at RIX. Four others will be operated from the airline’s Estonian hub at Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport (TLL). The final four additional routes will be operated from the Lithuanian hub at Vilnius International Airport (VNO). AirBaltic’s expansion plans, including the new African route and the routes across Europe, are a part of the airline’s post-COVID-19 recovery plans.

What do you think of this new route? Let us know in the comments below.