Royal Air Maroc has picked SpaceX’s Starlink for in-flight Wi-Fi and will fit it to 41 aircraft, with installations starting in early 2027. The airline announced the deal on October 7, 2026, and says it will be the first African airline to offer Starlink on board.
Access will be free for all members of Safar Flyer, the carrier’s loyalty program. The airline did not say what passengers outside the program will pay.
What Royal Air Maroc announced
The airline’s own post said it had selected Starlink for “next-generation inflight Wi-Fi,” starting in 2027. Its fuller statement said the fitting would be phased in gradually to limit disruption to operations.
Chairman and CEO Hamid Addou said the agreement reflects an ambition to give passengers a travel experience that meets the most demanding international standards, according to the statement as published in French by TelQuel.
Addou placed the Wi-Fi inside a multiyear plan that also covers fleet renewal, redesigned cabins and a full overhaul of the customer experience on the ground and on board.
Lauren Dreyer, SpaceX’s vice president of Starlink business operations, called it an important step for aviation in Africa. In its own post, Starlink said travelers would get reliable internet in flight “from Casablanca to the rest of Africa and beyond.”
Which aircraft, and what is still unknown
The airline has not said which of its aircraft make up the 41. Royal Air Maroc had more than 70 aircraft at the end of September, Morocco World News reported, so the 41 cover a little more than half of today’s fleet.
That fleet mixes Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliners, 737-800s and 737 MAX 8s with Embraer E190 and ATR 72-600 regional aircraft. Royal Air Maroc does not offer Wi-Fi on the vast majority of them today, One Mile at a Time noted, so for most passengers this is a step from no connection at all.
The deal itself is older than the announcement. Paris-based Africa Intelligence reported in August that the airline signed with Starlink on August 4, Le360 reported, and that a 2025 schedule had pointed to onboard Wi-Fi only by 2028.
Why airlines are switching to Starlink
In-flight Wi-Fi reaches an aircraft in one of two ways: from cell towers on the ground, which only work over land, or from satellites. How airplanes get Wi-Fi sets out the trade-offs.
Starlink uses a large network of satellites in low Earth orbit. SpaceX sells it on high speed and low latency, the delay that makes older satellite Wi-Fi feel sluggish when a page loads or a video starts.
That has made it the system of choice for a run of large carriers. American Airlines said this week it will fit Starlink to every mainline jet, and the Lufthansa Group flew its first Starlink flight in August.
Tying free access to Safar Flyer also gives Royal Air Maroc a reason for travelers to join its loyalty program and identify themselves on board.
For Royal Air Maroc, based at Casablanca’s Mohammed V airport, the move also sets it apart in its home region. One Mile at a Time noted that no other African airline had officially committed to Starlink yet.
Sources and references used for research and fact-checking.
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About the Author
Tim is the owner and lead editor of AeroCorner since 2019, overseeing aviation content covering aircraft, airlines, airports, and the broader aviation industry. Through years of researching, writing, editing, and publishing aviation-focused content, he has developed extensive practical knowledge of commercial aviation and air travel. Based in Asia and a frequent traveler himself, Tim also brings firsthand passenger experience to AeroCorner’s coverage. Outside of publishing, he has also explored aviation firsthand through hands-on flight training in New Zealand.