Morocco airline cancels flights to Qatar ahead of World Cup semifinal against France, leaving fans stranded
France-Morocco semifinal match airs on FOX at 2 p.m. ET
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Morocco’s national airline has canceled all its scheduled flights to Qatar Wednesday, leaving fans hoping to be there to experience their national team’s World Cup semifinal match against France stranded, reports say.
The sudden decision from Royal Air Maroc comes after the airline says it received an order from Qatari officials.
"Following the restrictions imposed by the Qatari authorities, Royal Air Maroc regrets to inform its customers that its partner Qatar Airways has canceled the flights operated on 14/12/2022 from Casablanca to Doha as part of their code-share partnership," the airline wrote on Twitter, according to Morocco World News.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Royal Air Maroc previously said it would operate 30 additional flights to shuttle fans to Qatar for Wednesday’s Morocco-France semifinal match, but on Tuesday, a source told Reuters that only 14 flights actually were scheduled, seven of which are now canceled Wednesday.
WORLD CUP 2022: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE FRANCE-MOROCCO SEMIFINAL
The CN-ROP Royal Air Maroc Boeing 737 makes its final approach for landing at Toulouse-Blagnac airport in France on March 20, 2019. (Reuters/Regis Duvignau)
That means fans in Morocco who secured match tickets or hotels and were planning to depart this morning on the Royal Air Maroc flights are now stranded.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Royal Air Maroc says it will reimburse those whose flights are affected.
Morocco's players celebrate after the penalty shootout during their World Cup match against Spain, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, on Dec. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Fox News Digital has reached out to Qatar’s government for further comment.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Morocco’s Atlas Lions have been on a Cinderella run in the 2022 World Cup, conceding only once – an own goal – in their five matches played leading up to Wednesday’s semifinal game against defending champions France.
Morocco's forward #19 Youssef En-Nesyri celebrates with teammate Achraf Hakimi after scoring the opening goal against Portugal at the Al-Thumama Stadium in Doha on Dec. 10, 2022. (Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP via Getty Images)
The game will air at 2 p.m. ET on FOX, with pregame coverage starting at 1 p.m. ET.