The magnificent seventh

MAS 2024 featured a static display of both military and civilian aircraft, along with an indoor showcase of various companies. This setup allowed attendees to explore a wide range of aerospace technologies and innovations, facilitating networking and business opportunities within the industry represented by more than 250 experts.

Many decisive issues were discussed during the conferences. Panelists representing a large and varied spectrum, showing the necessity to share, to grow together by tackling problems through bold decisions and cooperation. Participants unanimously recognised the importance of strengthening the industry’s integration, upgrading its capacity to keep pace with the accelerating global technological and environmental changes.

Morocco has ambitions to be a reliable partner and a regional aerospace platform. "Our ambition is to double the number of jobs in the aerospace industry by 2030, and we hope to have the first take-off from Morocco of a locally-assembled aircraft", said Ryad Mezzour, minister of industry and trade, during the opening ceremony.

Organised every two years under the aegis of his excellency King Mohammed VI, each edition of the Marrakech Air Show is attracting more and more industry leaders as Morocco asserts its new role through a well structured aerospace ecosystem, attractive incentives to foreign investors, political stability and the Kingdom’s strategic location, modern infrastructure and skilled manpower.

"The Marrakech Air Show has become a distinguished international event and a platform for fruitful exchanges and strategic partnerships between various national and international actors", said Abdellatif Loudiyi, minister delegate to the head of government in charge of the administration of national defence.

He also added: "The Kingdom has reinforced its legal arsenal regarding the defence industry, an essential building block in paving the way for Morocco's entry into the military industry".

Also speaking, the director general of the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG), Khalid Safir, noted “the Kingdom's unwavering support to a strategic sector for industrial emergence and national sovereignty”. With more than 20,000 jobs created and a sectoral integration rate exceeding 40 per cent, this sector has become “an essential lever for the development of national economy, positioning Morocco as a competitive best-cost destination for high-tech industries".

In the same vein, the CEO of Royal Air Maroc (RAM), Abdelhamid Addou, emphasised the "influence of the aeronautical industry in Morocco over the last two decades", explaining that, thanks to the strategic vision of HM King Mohammed VI, this sector has experienced a "remarkable growth", which places the Kingdom among the "global players in the aeronautics industry and makes Morocco an attractive destination for international investment".

RAM has entered a new era of expansion with the signing last July of a “programme-contract” that propels the group into a new dynamic of renewed challenges and an ambitious roadmap for the next 14 years.

"It means multiplying our fleet by four, going from 50 to 200 aircraft, multiplying by five the number of our passengers, from seven to 35 million passengers, and going from an annual turnover of nearly two billion dollars to nine billion dollars," Addou said.

Strategic agreements

MAS 2024 was marked by various partnership agreements including one for the setting up of the “African Center for Manufacturing Excellence” (ACME), a research centre in advanced manufacturing established in collaboration with Boeing.

This ambitious project was formalised by minister Ryad Mezzour, minister delegate Abdellatif Loudiyi and Hicham El Habti, president of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University.

As part of this partnership, the Moroccan company NTS Technics was selected as an engineering partner, a choice that paves the way for it to achieve level three design expertise and grants it the status of approved engineering supplier.

The Moroccan government also signed an agreement with Embraer to launch joint projects in the Moroccan aviation industry, covering the fields of commercial aviation, defence and urban air mobility. The MoU also underlines the mutual desire to strengthen and expand cooperation and investments between Brazil and Morocco.

ABL Aviation (ABL), the foremost independent aircraft asset management firm, also announced a $400 million financing facility dedicated to supporting Embraer’s E-Jet E2 programme. ABL’s investment provides Embraer’s airline customers worldwide with enhanced and more affordable financing options for E2 model deliveries, including the E175-E2, E190-E2, and E195-E2.

Secured during the Marrakech Air Show, where Embraer showcased the E195-E2, the ABL-Embraer partnership highlights Morocco’s emergence as a key aerospace hub, providing access to Africa’s rapidly-growing travel and cargo markets, a strategic air transit point for global trade and shipping, and a talent- and resource-rich environment for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO).

First participations

Drone constructors also showcased their latest innovations, like Baykar, Turkey’s first tech company to develop indigenous UAVs. It made its debut at MAS 2024 with an imposing 300-square-metre stand and by presenting its Bayraktar TB3 combat drone on static display at the Marrakech air base. This revolutionary drone made its first flight on October 27, 2023 and stands out for its unique ability to take off and land from short-runway vessels such as the TCG Anadolu aircraft carrier.

EDGE, one of the world’s leading advanced technology and defence groups, also made a grand debut. This strategic participation shows EDGE’s commitment to the Kingdom of Morocco, to regional growth and consolidating its footprint in North Africa’s evolving aerospace and technology ecosystem.

The group showcased an impressive range of cutting-edge technologies, smart weapons, autonomous unmanned aerial systems, non-lethal solutions and various types of ammunition, etc.

Hamad Al Marar, managing director and CEO of EDGE Group, says that the group is present at MAS 2024 to show how it is best positioned to address the operational challenges faced by its customers in the region.

Among the highlights of the show, the official arrival of the first Apache AH-64E helicopter for Morocco, produced by Boeing, marked a significant milestone. The production of 24 examples for the Royal Air Force has started, confirming Morocco's place as a strategic player in the field of air defense.

The guest of honour of MAS 2024 was the United Arab Emirates. This year's show experienced an unprecedented participation with around 200 exhibitors, more than 75 official delegations, spectacular aerial demonstrations, a dynamic exhibition and a rich programme of high-level conferences dealing with emerging trends and current and future challenges in the sector.

Covering an area of 12,500 sqm, the show hosted industry leaders such as Airbus, CATIC, Embraer, EDCC, Heliconia, Lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems. Their presence testified the growing importance of Morocco in the international aeronautical ecosystem.

The curtain fell on the seventh edition of MAS 2024 with a breathtaking show by the prestigious aerobatic team of the Royal Air Forces "Marche Verte – Green March".

A large audience, of all ages, had the opportunity to admire the various demonstrations and individual figures, in duo or in groups, brilliantly executed by the excellent aerobatics of this famous patrol.

During the demonstration, the pilots delicately drew the number 25 in the Moroccan sky, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of HM King Mohammed VI to the throne of his glorious ancestors.