Ouarzazate – Sun-powered Solar Impulse, which carried its first inter-continental flight to Morocco, landed on Thursday night in the airport of Ouarzazate after spending 17 hours and a half in the skies in a trip described by the experimental-airplane team as “extremely challenging”.Piloted by André Borschberg, Solar Impulse HB-SIA was warmly welcomed in Ouarzazate International airport, at the doorstep of Morocco’s desert, at 00:30 (GMT+1) after taking off from Rabat at 07:00.
On June 13, the aircraft had unsuccessfully attempted to land in southern Morocco and was compeled to return to Rabat due to headwinds and turbulences between Casablanca and Marrakech.
Flying to Morocco’s Ouarzazate region is filled with symbolism as it’s both Solar Impulse and the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy’s common message: to invest in innovative projects today for job creation and sustainable growth tomorrow, the organisers said in their website.
