Spanish operator Cathelicopters is seeking to restart the scheduled passenger routes between Spain and Morocco.  The route between the Moroccan city of Ceuta and Algeciras (Cádiz) was inaugurated in July 2010 while the link between Ceuta and Malaga airport dates back to 1996.  The Catalan company is seeking longer operating hours to make the service economically viable.  It is also hoping to open a new internal Moroccan route between Ceuta and Tangier to enable passengers from the latter city to interline through to Madrid.

INAER ceased operating the routes on 25^th March saying “This is a strategic decision for the company, based solely on commercial and business feasibility criteria”. The company had been operating both Bell 412 and AgustaWestland AW139 aircraft on the routes, with 18 sectors scheduled per day.  INAER also cited reasons including the global recession, fuel prices, heliport opening times and air traffic control issues all conspiring to frequent service cancellations.

Cathelicopters fleet includes Eurocopter EC135, AS355F2, AS350B3, SA315, MD Helicopters MD500E and Robinson R44 although it is not clear what helicopter type they intend using on the Moroccan routes.

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com