This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Heba Press
The question of the management of the airspace of the Moroccan Sahara is coming back to the forefront, after experiencing a notable freeze following the Spanish legislative elections.
This question, which Morocco has been demanding for years, sees new indications of the possibility of reaching a solution leading to the transfer of supervision of this area to Morocco.
In this context, a Spanish representative revealed developments indicating Spain’s desire to cede management of airspace for the benefit of Morocco.
Spanish MP Aniceto Armas Gonzalez relied on sources in the Spanish aeronautics sector, stressing that the Spanish Ministry of Transport is preparing to transfer management of the airspace of the Moroccan Sahara to Morocco.
The question of the airspace of the Moroccan Sahara dates back to the year 1975, when Morocco recovered its Sahara following the Green March, this file therefore remains one of the outstanding questions between Morocco and Spain, even if Morocco considers that the problem of its southern provincial airspace has been resolved.
Spain withdrew its flag from the heart of the city of Laâyoune and entrusted Morocco with the administration of the territory, but Spain continued to monitor the airspace of the Sahara through a company affiliated with the Spanish Ministry of Transport, operating from the Canary Islands.
The International Civil Aviation Organization adopts its own maps to determine the areas of jurisdiction of each air navigation management center. These maps differ from the territorial borders of countries, leading to overlaps in certain areas.
Despite this, the existing dispute over the Sahara means that the surveillance of the airspace of these regions remains the responsibility of Spain, which Morocco considers as an obstacle to a global settlement of this issue.
Flights from Laayoune, Dakhla and Smara airports, as well as aircraft belonging to the United Nations Mission for the Organization of a Referendum in the Sahara (MINURSO), require authorization from the Canary Islands control center, in addition to the authorization of the Mohammed V. airport hub in Casablanca.
With these recent developments and the great rapprochement between Spain and Morocco, it seems that the process of transferring airspace management to Morocco is underway, paving the way for the closure of one of the files in suspense between Rabat and Madrid, and putting an end to a long process of conflict over sovereignty over this area.
