Shaheed El Hafed (Refugee Camps), 18 November 2024 (SPS) - The Sahrawi Observatory for Natural Resources Monitoring has condemned Ryanair's decision to launch new direct flights connecting Dakhla, in the occupied Sahrawi territories, to Madrid and the Canary Islands, calling on the airline to "reconsider its decision."
"We urge Ryanair to immediately reconsider this decision and to put an end to any plans to operate flights to Dakhla," the Observatory wrote in a letter addressed to the airline's CEO, Michael O'Leary.
Expressing its "strong concerns" regarding the Low-Cost carrier's plans to open new international routes connecting Dakhla airport to Madrid and Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, the Sahrawi Observatory warned against "a violation of international law, particularly the right of the Sahrawi people to self-determination and their permanent sovereignty over their natural resources."
The Observatory reminded that Western Sahara is a non-self-governing territory under Moroccan occupation.
It also emphasized that the Sahrawi issue remains on the agenda of the UN's Fourth Committee on Decolonization.
“The United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and the Court of Justice of the European Union have repeatedly stated that Morocco has no sovereignty over Western Sahara,” it added.
In its 2018 ruling, it continued, "the European Court of Justice specifically excluded Western Sahara from the civil aviation agreement between Morocco and the European Union, thus reinforcing the legal distinction between the two territories."
In this regard, the Observatory encouraged the airline to "engage in serious and direct dialogue with the Polisario Front and the Sahrawi people to ensure that any future operations in Western Sahara comply with international law and respect the rights of its people."