A high-profile air transport liberalisation deal with the EU has been hailed by many in Rabat as taking Morocco a big step closer to meeting its ambitious tourism development targets. However, the deal could be a challenge to flagship carrier Royal Air Maroc (RAM), some commentators have argued.

Morocco has 19 international and national airports, the most important of which are the airports of Casablanca (Mohammed V), Tangiers (Tanger-Boukhalef), Rabat (Rabat-Sale), Fes (Fes-Saiss), Laayoun (Al Massira), Marrakesh (Menara), Oujda (Angad), in addition to the airports of Al-Hoceima, Tetouan and Ouarzazate.

The agreement is expected to come into force in 2006, following its ratification by the Moroccan parliament.

Morocco already had bilateral aviation agreements with a number of EU states, but analysts generally agree that the open skies deal takes this a step further. Indeed, many argue that such a liberalisation is a prerequisite for Morocco if it is to achieve its Vision 2010 objective of attracting 10m tourists per year by 2010.

At the same time, the deal is seen by the EU as serving its broader objective of a Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area, in line with the goals set by the Barcelona process 10 years ago.

Morocco is the first non-European country to conclude such a global air transport agreement with the EU. This reinforces its bid for advanced status in its relationship with the Union - a condition less than accession, but more than its current association status.

While a number of analysts had uttered the view that the deal would simply extend the provisions of the previous agreements Morocco had signed with France and Spain to encompass all EU countries, Moroccan minister of equipment and transport, Karim Ghellab told reporters the deal was comprehensive. It hence abolishes all limitations established by previous bilateral agreements.

"The government could have opted for a complete opening three years ago," the minister told the local press. "The conditions were conducive, but we decided to think it out thoroughly before making such an important decision for the future of the aviation sector and for tourism development in our country."

According to the deal, Moroccan air carriers will be able to fly to and transit from any of the airports in Europe, while reciprocally, all Moroccan international airports will be open to European carriers.

The agreement also provides for a simplification of procedures and for the standardisation of security and safety norms - although Ghellab insisted Morocco was already virtually up to EU standards in this respect.

The signing of the open skies deal fits in the country's tourism development strategy, which aims at strengthening the industry's role as an economic growth vehicle. The government has a development plan to expand and upgrade roads and other basic infrastructure in tourist zones, where hotels and other facilities will be built to accommodate the expected rise in tourist numbers.

Ghellab visited Dublin, home to no-frills airline Ryanair, earlier this year, and sources suggest RAM may have been gearing up for liberalisation for several years now, with the establishment of its own low-cost service, Atlas Blue in mid-2004.

Nevertheless, it remains to be seen whether RAM will prove able to resist all-out competition, especially on its Paris-Casablanca and Paris-Marrakech lines, which are the national carrier's lifeblood. A first test will take place on the crucial Paris-Marrakech line, with French-based airline Aigle Azur this week opening a new regular flight three times a week at an aggressive launch fare of 99 euros return.

However, most analysts broadly agree that despite the risks borne by its flagship carrier, Morocco has made the right choice in opening up its aviation sector. As the minister put it, "For us, competition is a factor of progress. There is little doubt that by sending such a positive signal to the EU market, Morocco is firmly taking a position as one of the EuroMed zone's most business-friendly nations."