Canada Is Not Closing Its Airspace to Morocco
The Claim
Following Algeria’s move, Canada decided to close its airspace to flights coming from Morocco.
News posted on
Emerging story
Accounts and pages on Facebook have recently circulated news that Canada has closed its airspace to flights coming from Morocco, following Algeria’s closing of its own airspace to the Kingdom.
Photo Description: The Facebook post screenshot here says that, “following Algeria, Canada decides to close its airspace to Moroccan flights.”
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulated claim and found it misleading. Canada did not decide to close its airspace to Moroccan flights. Instead, the Canadian government only decided to extend a suspension it has already placed on direct flights coming from Morocco for another month, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 29, 2021, due to the rise of COVID-19 cases in the Kingdom.
The Government of Canada also issued a statement advising that passengers arriving in Canada from Morocco through a third country will still be able to enter. However, they will need to obtain a negative pre-departure COVID-19 test result from that third (or transit) country before they can continue their flight to Canada.
Transport Canada decided on Aug. 28 to suspend all incoming commercial and private flights from Morocco until September 29 due to rising COVID-19 cases in the Kingdom.
On Sept. 22, 2021, Algeria announced that it is closing its airspace to all Moroccan civil and military aircraft, accusing the Kingdom of continued “provocations and hostile practices” against Algeria. The move contributes to increasing already tense relations between the two neighboring countries.
Translated by: Ahmed N. A. Almassri
