Royal Air Maroc (RAM), the Moroccan national carrier, has cancelled seven flights scheduled to depart for Doha, Qatar on Wednesday ahead of the World Cup semi-final.
The decision to cancel the flights has left hundreds of Atlas Lions fans in Morocco disappointed as they will most likely miss the semi-final clash between their country and France tonight.
The decision was made after Morocco’s FA promised to give fans 13 000 free tickets to the clash with France.
In an emailed statement to the Reuters news agency, Royal Air Maroc said:
Following the latest restrictions imposed by the Qatari authorities, Royal Air Maroc regrets to inform customers of the cancellation of their flights operated by Qatar Airways.
It was unclear why Qatari officials ordered the airline to stop the flights.
The decision meant some supporters who had already booked match tickets or hotel rooms were unable to travel.
RAM said it would reimburse air tickets and apologised to customers.