The Binter airline resumed its direct flights between Essaouira-Mogador International Airport (ESU) and Gran Canaria Airport (LPA), on Saturday marking its second consecutive year of summer connections between the two destinations.
These flights will operate every Saturday until mid-September, also offering a 22% increase in capacity over the previous year.
Departures from Essaouira airport are scheduled at 1.45pm, with arrival in the Canaries at 3.25pm, while return flights will leave Gran Canaria at 11.20am, arriving in the Cité des Alizés at 1.05pm.
After a flight of almost an hour and 30 minutes, Binter’s ATR-72 aircraft landed on the tarmac of Essaouira-Mogador International Airport, carrying several passengers bound for the Wind City, before boarding passengers departing from the city.
Binter’s international communications manager, Borja Bethencourt welcomed the resumption of the air route between Essaouira and Gran Canaria, underlining the importance of this route for strengthening tourist and economic exchanges between the two regions.
“This initiative has been made possible thanks to Binter’s exceptional relationship with the Morocco’s Tourist Office (ONMT), and is part of the implementation of a collaboration agreement between the two parties aimed at strengthening their commitment to tourism recovery and connectivity with the Canary Islands”, he said.
Abdelmounaim Aoutoul, Commander of Essaouira Mogador International Airport, said that the new route is intended to boost air services at the airport, which has seen sustained growth in domestic air traffic in recent years.
In terms of air routes, Aoutoul reported that the Essaouira airport is currently connected to eight international destinations, in addition to domestic flights to Tangiers.
The airport’s terminal, covering an area of 3,000 square meters and opened in 2010, has a capacity of up to 300,000 passengers a year, noted Mr. Aoutoul, noting that the airport is equipped with modern technologies guaranteeing optimal conditions in terms of safety, security and quality of service for travelers.
During July, August and the first two weeks of September, the airline will also be strengthening its connections with Agadir (AGA) with a second weekly flight.
In this way, Binter is adding Thursdays to its usual operation of every Sunday during the rest of the year.
Thursday flights will depart from LPA at 10:00 a.m. and land in Agadir at 11:35 a.m., while the return flight is scheduled for 12:20 p.m. with arrival in the archipelago at 2:00 p.m.
As for Sundays, departures are scheduled for 09:15 with arrival in Agadir at 10:50, while the return flight will be at 12:05 with arrival in Gran Canaria at 13:45.