Anna Aero
Latest Airline Route News
Among those in Dakhla to greet Transavia’s first flight from Paris Orly on 26 October, posing in front of the aircraft with the inaugural crew, were: Ynja Khattat, Chairman of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region (left); Abderrafie Zouitene, Director General of the Moroccan National Tourist Office (third-left); and Lamine Benomar, Wali of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region (third-right). Transavia will operate flights from the French capital weekly (Thursdays).
Transavia has made Dakhla (VIL) its latest African destination, with the carrier beginning flights to the Western Sahara city, a disputed territory currently administered by Morocco, from Paris Orly (ORY). Launched 26 October, Transavia will operate the 3,206-kilometre link from the French capital weekly (Thursdays) on its fleet of 737-800s. On the same day as the Dakhla inauguration, the airline commenced a 1,791-kilometre sector between Eindhoven (EIN) and Seville (SVQ).
The latter route will be flown by Transavia three times weekly, also on its fleet of 737-800s. While the link from Orly to Dakhla faces no direct competition, it should be noted that the route between the Netherlands and Spain is already served by Ryanair, with the Irish LCC offering twice-weekly flights. In 2016 Dakhla encountered a 21% increase in annual traffic when compared to 2015 according to statistics published by Office National des Aéroports (ONDA), with the airport seeing 154,451 passengers travel through its terminal.