(MENAFN - Morocco World News) Rabat – The Fes-Meknes Region and Morocco signed a partnership agreement yesterday that expands air service for the region both nationally and internationally. The agreement was signed by the president of the region, , and the general manager of Air Arabia, Leila Mechbal. The partnership aims to develop and expand tourism and air traffic in the Fes-Meknes region. The agreement also seeks to increase the number of flights to Fes-Saïss Airport which opened its new larger terminal last year.
Air Arabia Maroc expanded its operations at Fes-Saïss in June 2017, and currently operates 28 weekly flights from the Fes airport.
The partnership agreement will also encourage 'the creation of direct and indirect jobs and contribute to the socio-economic development of the region, and make it easier for economic and tourism operators in the Fes-Meknes region to access new markets more easily than before,' according to the signatory parties.
'Under this agreement, both parties are committed to promoting the region in the various countries served, highlighting both the cultural and natural assets of the region,' the statement said. Mechbal said the goal is to make Fes-Saïss airport a destination of choice, adding that this agreement corresponds with the development of commercial traffic and tourist flows.
Passenger traffic at the airport increased 25 percent in 2017 compared to 2016. The airport was the fifth busiest in terms of passenger traffic, behind Casablanca-Mohammed V, Marrakech-Menara, Agadir-Al Massira and Ibn Batouta International Airport in Tangier.
The new airport terminal at Fès-Saiss is a platform for several low-cost airlines, including Ryanair, Easy Jet, Jet Air Fly, and Air Arabia, increasing the airport's yearly capacity from 500,000 to 2.5 million passengers.
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