Latvian-based firm airBaltic, has made an eye-catching announcement after it revealed today (June 14) plans for its first-ever scheduled connection to Africa.

The destination in question is Marrakesh, Morocco.

Flights are scheduled to kick-off from October 31 of this year, flown by the carrier’s Airbus A220-300s. Its contingent of the popular narrowbody type comprised 36 examples at the time of writing, with their latest addition, YL-ABJ (c/n 55165) – pictured – having arrived at the end of May; this was airBaltic’s fourth A220 out of a planned eight to be received in 2022.

The rotation to Marrakesh – gateway to natural wonders including the Atlas Mountains and Sahara Desert – is to be served from Riga, the capital of Latvia, on a twice-weekly basis with a flight time scheduled for 5hrs 30 mins.

Martin Gauss, chief executive officer of airBaltic, commented: “We are excited to announce our first-ever scheduled route to Africa. As the leading airline in the Baltics, we continue to build our network, adding more exciting leisure destinations also for the winter season.”

While the addition of Marrakesh will be one of the longest routes across its network, it’s still a somewhat shorter distance in comparison to airBaltic’s flights to locations such as Tenerife (see link below) and Dubai/International.

Currently, airBaltic flies to more than 70 destinations across Europe, the Middle East and CIS region.