Royal Air Maroc voted best regional airline in Africa in 2026 according to Skytrax

After a 2025 season marked by an unusual dip in global rankings, Royal Air Maroc has made a strong comeback this year. The 2026 World Airline Awards, compiled by Skytrax, once again recognize RAM as the best regional airline on the African continent, relegating RwandAir and Airlink to the runner-up spots.

The figures speak for themselves: RAM has climbed twelve places in a single year, rising to 58th place globally out of one hundred evaluated airlines, up from 70th place in last year’s rankings. This turnaround follows a notable slump, as the previous edition saw the Moroccan flag carrier drop fifteen places, falling from 55th to 70th worldwide.

Progress is equally clear at the continental level: RAM has jumped from sixth to fourth place in the overall African rankings. It now trails Ethiopian Airlines, EgyptAir, and Air Mauritius, but once again ranks ahead of RwandAir and South African Airways. However, the news is most significant in the specific category of regional carriers: Skytrax has crowned Royal Air Maroc the best regional airline in Africa, a title it had lost to the Rwandan carrier last year.

Globally, within this same category, the Moroccan carrier has risen from tenth to eighth place; the top of the list remains occupied by Bangkok Airways, followed by Porter Airlines and Virgin Australia.

Major expansion of RAM’s network:

This improvement is no coincidence; it is part of an ambitious growth plan unveiled by the airline’s management. CEO Hamid Addou has set a clear course for the year: launching at least ten new international routes designed to cement Casablanca’s status as an aviation hub connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The roadmap rests on two complementary pillars: strengthening medium-haul operations and expanding long-haul services, a move made possible by the gradual delivery of new aircraft.

The schedule for new route launches spans the entire year. In January, the Casablanca–Saint Petersburg service kicked off this wave of expansion into Russia, offering three weekly flights that connect the two cities in under six hours. April alone sees the launch of five new routes from Casablanca: Pointe-Noire (Congo), Tripoli (Libya), Beirut (Lebanon), and the Spanish cities of Bilbao and Alicante, the latter two further enriching an Iberian network that already includes Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Malaga, Valencia, and Seville.

However, the strategy reaches its high point in June with the launch, on June 7, of the very first direct flight between Casablanca and Los Angeles. This marks a historic milestone for the airline: it is the first non-stop connection between the African continent and the U.S. Pacific coast, with a flight time of twelve hours and a frequency of three flights per week.

The rollout concludes in July with the opening of a route to Lille, reinforcing RAM’s presence in the French market, which is already served by several major cities across France.

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