Moroccan carrier Royal Air Maroc has confirmed it will operate more flights from Manchester Airport after launching its first service from Stansted, its third London gateway.
From winter 2025/26, the airline will increase frequency on its Manchester to Casablanca route from three to up to five flights a week, with new departures added on Mondays and Fridays.
The increase will coincide with Morocco’s hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations (ACON) football tournament, which starts on 21 December 2025.
Royal Air Maroc last month launched a three-times-a-week service between Stansted and Casablanca, complementing its flights from Heathrow and Gatwick.
The Stansted services offer connections in Casablanca to other west African destinations, including Lagos and Dakar.
It will pause at the end of the summer, but resume in December for ACON, said UK General Manager Zoubida Smahi.
“Whether we will continue to offer the service all year will depend on seat sales,” she said. “So far, they have been good, the flights this summer are full so we are very pleased.”
The service was launched as Stansted unveiled a new brand identity and progresses plans to increase capacity from 30 million passengers a year to up to 51 million.
The airport, which has permission to grow to 43 million, without an additional runway, has applied for planning permission to grow to 51m over the next 20 years.
“Aircraft are getting bigger, they are getting longer with more seats, so we can handle more capacity with our existing runway,” said a Stansted spokesperson.
The airport’s new branding will be rolled out over the summer and will feature on staff uniforms, on social media channels, the Stansted website and all public-facing materials.
