Madrid, 26 October 2026 (SPS) – The Polisario Front announced on Monday that it is initiating legal proceedings before Spanish courts to revoke the authorisation granted to low-cost airline Ryanair to operate flights linking Madrid and Lanzarote with occupied Dakhla in Western Sahara.
The announcement was made at a joint press conference outside the Spanish Parliament in Madrid by Oubi Bushraya El-Bashir, adviser to the Sahrawi President for natural resources and legal affairs, alongside the Front’s legal team, including Spanish lawyer Jacinto Lara and Sahrawi lawyer Ishaba Massoud.
Oubi said the legal action seeks to compel the Spanish government to withdraw the flight authorisation, arguing that international law does not recognise Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and prohibits the exploitation of its airspace and natural resources without the consent of the Sahrawi people, represented by the Polisario Front.
The announcement coincided with an international conference in Madrid presenting an updated report entitled Tourism Under Occupation: The Case of Dakhla. The report examines how Morocco uses tourism to consolidate its economic presence in Western Sahara and promote its claim to sovereignty through the involvement of foreign companies and partners.
Speaking to the Sahrawi Press Service (SPS), Oubi said the report and accompanying legal action aim to raise awareness among European consumers about what he described as misleading representations of Dakhla as a Moroccan city, and the role tourism promotion plays in sustaining the occupation.
The Polisario Front’s complaint invokes international law and European court rulings, particularly the Court of Justice of the European Union’s November 2018 judgment, which established that the EU–Morocco aviation agreement did not apply to Western Sahara, a territory separate and distinct from Morocco.
The Polisario Front also highlighted Spain’s particular responsibilities regarding Western Sahara under international law and UN resolutions, pending completion of the decolonisation process.
The Polisario Front described the proceedings as the beginning of a new phase of legal action against Ryanair’s operations in the occupied territory. Further details are expected to be presented by Sahrawi representatives and their legal team at an event at the European Parliament on 4 November.
The press conference was attended by international experts and lawyers, the Polisario Front’s representative in Spain, Abdallah Arabi, Spanish MP of Sahrawi origin Tesh Sidi, members of the report’s research team, and Spanish and European parliamentarians.
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