RABAT: Several special flights departed Morocco Sunday taking thousands of stranded Europeans home as the kingdom announced it was suspending all regular air traffic due to the coronavirus, authorities and airports said.
Morocco said Sunday it had decided to suspend all international commercial flights “until further notice,” extending a ban that had previously been applied to around 30 nations, including Italy, France and Spain.
But France announced that Rabat had agreed to allow special repatriation flights for its nationals.
“Some 40 flights are operating to France today (Sunday) and tomorrow (Monday) from several Moroccan cities and others will follow in the coming days,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Twitter.
According to information provided by Moroccan airports and embassy notifications, several other special flights were heading out of the North African country for Europe on Sunday, mostly to Belgium, Spain and Germany.
The French embassy, like other foreign missions, has set up a special crisis cell and replied to more than 8,500 messages on Twitter from tourists seeking assistance.
“There are flights, we are waiting at the counter. It is very tense,” French traveler Sabrina told AFP by telephone from the southern tourist hub of Marrakesh.
Tourism accounts for 10 percent of Morocco’s GDP and is a key source of foreign revenue in the country which last year attracted 13 million visitors.
Meanwhile, thousands of Moroccans have found themselves stranded abroad, awaiting repatriation at airports, especially in France, according to local media.
Moroccan authorities on Sunday upped the number of confirmed cases in the country to 28, from 18. One person has so far died from the virus in Morocco.
The country has taken a series of measures to contain the spread of the virus, closing schools and universities, canceling sporting and cultural events and banning public gatherings of more than 50 people.
This year’s Mawazine music festival — held annually in Morocco and one of the biggest such events worldwide — will be canceled, organizers announced Sunday.
It had been due to take place in June and last year attracted 2.75 million people.
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Europeans leave Morocco on special flights as regular air links halted
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Europeans leave Morocco on special flights as regular air links halted
- Morocco said Sunday it had decided to suspend all international commercial flights until further notice
- French FM Jean-Yves Le Drian: Some 40 flights are operating to France today (Sunday) and tomorrow (Monday) from several Moroccan cities and others will follow in the coming days
New Zealand floods kill one, leave thousands without power
WELLINGTON: Heavy rains and strong winds have lashed New Zealand in recent days, killing one man, flooding large areas and cutting off several communities, authorities said.
The severe storm since Friday has prompted a state of emergency in North Island, where the Waikato Regional Council said “one in 100 year” rainfall had caused widespread flooding.
Police said a man died on Friday after the car he was driving was trapped in flood waters near North Island’s Otorohanga.
The storm has continued down the country, reaching the capital Wellington on Monday before moving toward Christchurch in the South Island on Tuesday.
Energy operator PowerCo. said about 10,000 households were without power in the lower North Island on Tuesday, while another electricity company, Orion, said more than 200 households were without power on Banks Peninsula outside Christchurch.
Near Wellington, Wairarapa township Lake Ferry had been cut off after the only road access to the town was washed out.
National broadcaster RNZ reported residents were forming a human chain to pass supplies across a washed out bridge.
The town of Akaroa outside Christchurch was also isolated on Tuesday due to flooding and slips on the highway leading to it, the New Zealand Transport Agency said.
National meteorological agency MetService said winds that struck Wellington on Monday were the strongest since 2013.
Wind gusts of 193 kilometers (120 miles) per hour were recorded in the city, MetService said.
The severe storm since Friday has prompted a state of emergency in North Island, where the Waikato Regional Council said “one in 100 year” rainfall had caused widespread flooding.
Police said a man died on Friday after the car he was driving was trapped in flood waters near North Island’s Otorohanga.
The storm has continued down the country, reaching the capital Wellington on Monday before moving toward Christchurch in the South Island on Tuesday.
Energy operator PowerCo. said about 10,000 households were without power in the lower North Island on Tuesday, while another electricity company, Orion, said more than 200 households were without power on Banks Peninsula outside Christchurch.
Near Wellington, Wairarapa township Lake Ferry had been cut off after the only road access to the town was washed out.
National broadcaster RNZ reported residents were forming a human chain to pass supplies across a washed out bridge.
The town of Akaroa outside Christchurch was also isolated on Tuesday due to flooding and slips on the highway leading to it, the New Zealand Transport Agency said.
National meteorological agency MetService said winds that struck Wellington on Monday were the strongest since 2013.
Wind gusts of 193 kilometers (120 miles) per hour were recorded in the city, MetService said.
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