Madrid (Spain), 27 October 2026 (SPS) – A report entitled “Tourism in the Context of Occupation: Dakhla, from Military Base to Pearl of the Sahara”, published on Monday by the Sahrawi Natural Resources and Legal Issues Working Group, has highlighted the illegality of agreements and commercial flights involving occupied Western Sahara without the consent of the Sahrawi people.
The report recalls that Western Sahara remains a separate and distinct territory from Morocco under international law, stressing that rulings issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), particularly in October 2024, reaffirmed that agreements between the EU and Morocco cannot be applied to the territory without the consent of the Sahrawi people.
It also maintains that the EU–Morocco aviation agreement does not cover Western Sahara or its airspace, warning that commercial flights connecting European destinations with occupied Dakhla lack a valid legal basis when operated without the consent of the Sahrawi people, represented by the Polisario Front.
The report further cautions European airlines and companies against involvement in activities that disregard European court rulings and international law, noting the potential legal and financial consequences of operating in the occupied territory without the consent of its people.
It reaffirms the Polisario Front’s determination, alongside Sahrawi human rights and trade union organisations, to pursue legal action against agreements and contracts that disregard the Sahrawi people’s right to self-determination and control over their natural resources.
Meanwhile, the Polisario Front announced on Monday in Madrid that it would initiate legal proceedings before Spanish courts to challenge the authorisation granted to low-cost airline Ryanair to operate flights linking Madrid and Lanzarote with occupied Dakhla.
Speaking at a joint press conference outside the Spanish Parliament, the Sahrawi President’s adviser for natural resources and legal affairs, Oubi Bushraya El Bachir, said the legal action aims to compel the Spanish government to withdraw the flight authorisation granted to Ryanair.
He stressed that international law does not recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and that the territory’s airspace and resources cannot be exploited without the consent of the Sahrawi people, represented by the Polisario Front.
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