Foreign investment in air transport companies is reported to be limited to 49% of capital. The OECD could not find the precise underlying regulation providing for such restriction, but this has been reported in previous WTO Trade Policy Reviews (2016) validated by the Moroccan authorities. The ITF (2019) also reports the following: "Morocco defines a Moroccan carrier as one belonging in majority to Moroccan nationals or the Moroccan state, as per decree 2.61.161 of 10 July 10 1962. Control is determined by the number of votes held by Moroccan nationals on a board, with a majority being required for the carrier to be deemed Moroccan controlled, except in cases where Morocco has signed an agreement with another country to allow less stringent requirements."
"TITLE II: AIR PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICES "CHAPTER ONE: DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT
Article 127: Internal transport
Public transport air services between any two points in Moroccan territory are provided by Moroccan companies.
Article 128: International transport - (modified by decree n° 851-67 of 01/26/1970)
International air transport services, from or to Morocco, can be provided by Moroccan, foreign or international companies.
The admission of foreign companies on regular or non-regular international services is authorized by the Minister of Public Works in accordance with the terms of multilateral or bilateral conventions and agreements concluded by Morocco.
Foreign companies, whose State of origin has not concluded an air agreement with Morocco, may however obtain an authorization for the operation of regular international services on certain lines, provided that the State of origin of these companies grants reciprocity to Moroccan companies, and provided that a new service is not likely to cause ruinous competition for Moroccan companies.
[...]
Article 134: Aircraft used - (modified by decree n° 2-99-1077 of 04/05/2000)
All aircraft used by Moroccan public transport companies must be registered in Morocco.
[...]
TITLE III: AERIAL WORK
Article 170: Companies
Aerial work services may be provided by Moroccan or foreign companies, duly authorized in accordance with article 122 of this decree.
Article 171: Aircraft used - (modified by decree n° 2-01-332 of 04/07/2002).
Moroccan companies wishing to operate aerial work services must use aircraft registered in Morocco.[...]" (Decree N° 2-61-161 of 07 Safar 1382 (July 10, 1962) regulating civil aeronautics [google translation])
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"Article 1: object
The purpose of these specifications is to define the conditions to be met by Moroccan companies to obtain authorization for regular or non-scheduled public transport air services (passengers and freight) within the framework of the regulations in force. , in particular the decree of the Minister of Transport and the Merchant Marine n° 544-00 of November 2, 2000 setting the conditions relating to obtaining the authorization to operate public transport and aerial work air services such as it was modified by decree of the Minister of Transport and the Merchant Marine n° 953-02 of May 31, 2002.
Article 2: request for authorization
The application for authorization to operate non-scheduled scheduled public transport air services is subject to the following conditions:
- The operator must be a public limited company, domiciled in Morocco, governed by Moroccan law;
- The board of directors or the management board of the company must be chaired by a natural person of Moroccan nationality. [...]" (ANNEX 3: SPECIFICATIONS SETTING THE CONDITIONS FOR GRANTING AUTHORIZATION TO OPERATE SCHEDULED AND NON-SCHEDULED PUBLIC TRANSPORT AIR SERVICES [google translation])
Decree N° 2-61-161 of 07 Safar 1382 (July 10, 1962) regulating civil aeronautics [google translation]
ANNEX 3: SPECIFICATIONS SETTING THE CONDITIONS FOR GRANTING AUTHORIZATION TO OPERATE SCHEDULED AND NON-SCHEDULED PUBLIC TRANSPORT AIR SERVICES [google translation]
[<a href="http://www.equipement.gov.ma/aerien/reglementation/Documents/DNA/SCA/Decret-2-61-161.pdf">Decree</a>],[<a href="http://www.dac-maroc.gov.ma/site%20dac/fichier_pdf/cahier_decharge.pdf">Annex</a>],[<a href="https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/liberalisation_air_transport_1.pdf">Other</a>],[<a href="https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/WT/TPR/S329R1.pdf&Open=True">Other</a>]