The government is preparing to introduce amendments to Law 40.13 related to the Civil Aviation Code, in implementation of recommendations issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization, in order to conform to international standards and practices.
The amending provisions seek, in particular, to implement the contents of the Chicago Convention relating to international civil aviation, and the Euro-Mediterranean agreement relating to air services signed in Brussels between Morocco and the European Community on December 12, 2006.
According to an informed source, the amendments include a number of articles, but the most important is related to clarifying the requirements for compensating travelers in the event of cancellation or delay of a flight departing from Morocco.
In this regard, the government will introduce an amendment to Article 223 of Law 40.13 to explicitly stipulate that travelers are entitled, in the event of a cancellation or delay, to a flight departing from Morocco, to obtain compensation, in exchange for what is stipulated in the current version of the right to assistance only.
In order to avoid the air carriers arguing about the exceptional circumstances provided for in Article 225, which exempts them from compensation, the government is moving towards reformulating the article to clarify what is meant by exceptional or force majeure circumstances, which include in particular: the case of taking measures related to public order or weather conditions that do not allow flight in question, safety risks associated with the flight, or unexpected technical malfunctions that may affect flight safety.
What is new in this article is the provision that strikes that may affect the operations of the air carrier are also included in the exceptional or force majeure circumstances that exempt the carriers from compensation.
Majeure circumstances will also include decisions related to air traffic that may lead to a significant delay, delay or cancellation of the flight, despite taking all necessary measures by the air carrier to avoid delay or cancellation.