Holidaymakers in Morocco ‘in limbo’ after travel ban

Holidaymakers in Morocco have described being “in limbo” trying to find a flight home after the country’s ban on UK flights.

The ban came into effect at 11.59pm on Wednesday due to rising coronavirus rates in the UK.

Chloe Boulos, 30, from Essex, told the PA news agency she and her partner were due to fly home Thursday, but they were told by their airline the flight had been cancelled only a few hours before it was scheduled to depart.

She said they were awaiting an update and hoped to fly on Friday.

We have been in limbo not knowing if we would be leaving or not

“It has definitely ruined the last day as we’ve just spent all day checking for an update.

“(It is) more frustrating than anything as all day we have been in limbo not knowing if we would be leaving or not.”

Another man travelling from the UK said the ban on flights came as “a bit of a shock”.

Will Malpass, 31, who lives in Clapham, south London, said that he and his partner have been left in a “frustrating” situation after arriving in Morocco on Sunday.

He told PA that they will now have to travel through France to get home.

“As it stands, we’re going through France and then (getting the) Eurostar back,” he said.

Mr Malpass said he is not scheduled to fly home until Monday but was notified that his flight had been cancelled when the ban was announced.

“(It) did come as a surprise – it doesn’t feel like (the ban) actually solves anything because we’re just finding a way through another country to get back,” Mr Malpass said.

Morocco’s National Office of Airports said the policy will remain in place “until further notice”.

Latest figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control show that Morocco’s weekly rate of reported coronavirus cases on October 14 stood at 10.4 per 100,000 people. The rate in the UK is 445.5 per 100,000 people.

The country also banned flights to and from Germany and the Netherlands.