Air Arabia Maroc is opening a new base in the city of Tetouan, located in northern Morocco, and launching routes to four European destinations.

The move will increase the LCC’s number of bases in the country to six, comprising Casablanca, Fes Nador, Oujda, Tangier and now Tetouan’s Sania Ramel Airport (TTU). Flights will commence from the new base to Barcelona, Madrid and Malaga, all in Spain, as well as Brussels, starting from late March.

“This expansion reinforces our commitment to providing seamless travel options and value-driven offers to our passengers, while contributing to the growth and accessibility of air travel in the kingdom,” Air Arabia Group CEO Adel Al Ali says.

Air Arabia Maroc intends to serve Barcelona El Prat Airport three times per week, becoming the sole operator of the route, and fly to Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) twice a week. Both services will begin on March 31. Flights to Brussels Airport (BRU) will begin on April 1, operating twice a week, followed by a 3X-weekly Malaga Airport (AGP) service the next day.

Data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser shows that the Brussels market is currently served by TUI fly Belgium and Ryanair, with TUI operating a weekly TTU-BRU route, and Ryanair flying twice a week from Brussels Charleroi Airport. Additionally, Ryanair offers two roundtrips per week to TTU from both AGP and MAD.

Air Arabia Maroc’s planned expansion comes a month after Ryanair outlined its intention to add 35 new routes from Morocco during the northern 2024 summer season, including its first domestic flights.

The Irish ULCC intends to open 11 new connections within the North African country, as well as 24 new international services. The move will increase the airline’s Moroccan network to 1,100 weekly flights across 175 routes during the season.