The Foreign Office is advising British travellers hit by the Morocco flight ban to travel via third countries, such as France or Spain.

From midnight last night, Morocco has suspended all flights to and from the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.

In an update to its travel advice, the UK Foreign Office yesterday said: “The Moroccan government has announced the suspension for an unspecified period of direct flights between Morocco and the UK (and Germany and The Netherlands) with effect from midnight 20 October.

“Travellers affected by flight cancellations should contact their airline or tour operator for advice on alternative routes via third countries (eg France, Spain) where flights are operating as normal.”

Morocco has not, as yet, announced a specific ban on UK travellers, according to the Foreign Office, so they should still be able to enter the country if fully vaccinated or in possession of a negative PCR test. However, from today, everyone must have a vaccine pass to enter hotels, shops, restaurants, cafes and hammams. The NHS pass is accepted, but it isn’t clear whether visitors with a negative PCR test will be banned from entering public buildings, including hotels.

EasyJet cancelled its flight from London Gatwick to Marrakech yesterday and suspended all further outbound flights until 30 November.

A spokesperson said easyJet will offer repatriation flights during the rest of this month to bring passengers home, subject to receiving permission from the Moroccan Government.

TUI has cancelled flights and holidays to Marrakech and Agadir until the end of October. In an update on its website it said: “We are contacting customers in departure date order to discuss their options, which include amending to another destination or a full refund.

“We are working through the details of this announcement with the Moroccan authorities and will be updating customers currently on holiday in the next 24 hours.

“We would like to reassure customers currently on holiday that we are continuing to work closely with the Moroccan authorities to confirm their return flights and will continue to keep them updated.

“We would like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding during this time.

“We are still awaiting clarity from the Moroccan authorities as to whether we are permitted to operate repatriation flights beyond midnight today.” 

British Airways was due to relaunch flights to Morocco today for the first time since March 2020. A spokesperson said its services would now remain suspended ‘at least until the end of the month, if not longer’.