By Chad Anthony Williams 
19m ago
CAPE TOWN – Moroccan airline Royal Air Maroc is set to resume domestic flights as soon as June 11, after suspending them for weeks as a precautionary measure to contain Covid-19 transmissions, news network Daily Morocco reported.
In March, Morocco said it would halt flights to and from 25 countries, extending an initial ban that covered China, Spain, Italy, France and Algeria, then the countries with the highest numbers of coronavirus cases.
This week Royal Air Maroc said it woud resume international flights in early July, as the country relaxed Covid-19 lockdown regulations.
The airline said 30 percent of its staff would return to work on June 8, while the rest would be gradually phased in as per health regulations.
Morocco’s biggest carrier has not been spared from the government’s travel restrictions and has lost up to US$5 million in revenue per day, according to e-newspaper Morocco World News.
Royal Air Maroc reported a 60 percent loss in traffic in March and a 100 percent loss in April.
Chief executive Abdelhamid Addou said the airline was looking for a way to ensure its financial survival while maintaining its 60-aircraft fleet and treating its almost 4,000 employees fairly.
Addou said the airline had implemented an austerity plan at the beginning of the health crisis, allowing it to meet its obligations for the months of March, April and May.
The airline however says it will need the state’s support for June, despite resuming air travel.
The coronavirus pandemic has largely grounded air travel worldwide as governments attempt to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, and many airlines are feeling the financial pinch.