The same Spanish official highlighted that the two countries had pledged to “open talks on airspace management, without intending to concede,” during the high-level summit between the two countries in April 2022.
Sanchez’s government has confirmed that it is negotiating with Morocco over the management of the airspace of the Moroccan Sahara, which currently relies on air traffic controllers for the Canary Islands. In this way, Spain and Morocco will comply with Point 7 of the Joint Declaration that the two countries signed in April 2022.
Controversy arose again about Spain’s intention to cede management of airspace to Morocco, after the Spanish government responded to a question by Senator Fernando Clavijo, a member of the Canary Islands, about the outcome of the negotiations with the Kingdom of Morocco on the matter.
It was understood from the Spanish government’s response that negotiations between the two countries had begun “actually” to concede Madrid in favor of Morocco to manage the field, but the head of Spanish diplomacy, according to what was reported by the President of the Canary Islands, made it clear that the negotiations are limited only to “improving management methods”, and not a complete concession.
