Flights to/through Morocco and eventually over to the Canary Islands?

I used to go to Lanzarote in the 1980s and went again in 2013. It is really nice for a laid back holiday. The “fish and chips and beer” tourists get packed out of sight into Puerto del Carmen and maybe 1 or 2 other places. But I have never been there by GA – it would be a long trek needing 1 fuel stop, probably somewhere in Spain, roughly around Salamanca/Granada.

We’ve been to Morocco and the island of La Palma several times (we have family in La Palma). We’ve been to Tangier, Marrakesh, Fes and Agadir last year, absolutely no problem there. Things are quite professional and not very “oriental” these days in Morocco. There is Avgas in all four places but it’s not cheap (hand pumped in Fes :-) Have a look at the Morocco AIP for the addressing of flight plans.

La Palma doesn’t have Avgas, otherwise it’s good. No mandatory handling and landing plus parking for a week was less than 20€ (SEP, 1315kg). Tenerife Norte has Avgas but handling is mandatory. We’ve been to Lanzarote once and it was OK but it was a couple of years ago and I think fees are high now and handling is mandatory. Two years ago we flew to la Palma via Madeira and then back to Cascais. This was an interesting trip as well.

We’re off for La Palma tomorrow, this time via Agadir again. So I’ll be able to give a first-hand account next week.

From a tourist’s point of view, La Palma is quite nice. It rather caters to hikers than to beachers. It’s not as crowded as the larger islands but it’s by far not off the beaten track.

La Gomera is very, very nice! There is one “tourist trap” – Valle Gran Rey – but the rest of the island has just the right level of “tourist facilities”.

Interesting thread. We are looking at doing this trip in February next year. leaving the UK on 16 February to Southern Spain, via Morocco and arrive Canaries on 18 Feb and back in the UK by 2 March. That’s about as detailed a plan as I have at the moment so looking for best fuel stops in Morocco and best islands to visit in the Canaries. It looks like avgas is only available at Tenrife North, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. Having never been to any of the islands before are there any pratical tips? Are La Gomera, Hierro amd La Palma good place to visit to get away from the normal sun seaking crowd?

Coolhand, you are correct. Have a look at the info in the links posted by Bosco above. AFAIK you can request customs and immigration at LECU, so you might be able to go direct. If not, you’d have to stop somewhere in the South. As I said, LEGR being the easiest / cheapest for that. Same on the way back.

Being so near, I’ve never flown into Morocco. Is there any special prior permission required or just a filed FPL is enough? After reading GEN 1.2.3 I would say that a FPL is the only requirement.
According to your comments I understand that even flying VFR you need to file the ‘route’ section in the FPL and adhere to some IFR intersection as the entry point and compulsory VFR routes after. Is that right?

Been to Morocco several times in a 172 RG (Flyer59, we may have flown the same a/c ex LEMG!). It’s pretty straightforward. They want you to fly the published VFR routes and report at the, equally published, VRPs. No ‘free flight’. You will check in / leave their airspace via IFR intersections, even if VFR. Be aware, that certain routes (e.g. the direct one Malaga – Fez) are not available during weekdays, due to R airspace. Do not, I say again, do not, overfly the centers of Fez and Marrakesh, as they contain royal palaces. Big no-no.

No need for a visa. At places like Marrakesh, you will have to go through security with the __hoi palloi_ – find an official and flash your license – presto, you’re at the front of the queue. Be aware of Avgas availability – usually worse, the farther south you get. Errashida doesn’t / didn’t have it. Have small Euro notes (fivers) to hand – helps matters along. Upon departure, make sure the fueller knows you are leaving Morocco, gets you a better price. Never crossed over to the Canaries, so cannot help there.

One more thing. Leaving/entering Spain (i.e. the EU) will have to be done via a ‘Port of Entry’. In southern Spain, these are Malaga, Jerez, Seville and Granada. Of these, by far the cheapest (landing fees and handling) is Granada.

Enjoy

The AIP, including AICs and NOTAMs is here.

Traditionally, for VFR flyers, the most important thing is the VFR reporting points and subsequent VFR routes, along which they expect all flight to be planned and take place. Found here (huge pdfs!).

If you read German i can send you the PDF of an article i did on that flight! But can’t do before Wednesday, traveling abroad!