A solar-powered aircraft left the Moroccan capital on Friday for Madrid on its return journey to its home port in Switzerland, an AFP correspondent reported.
The Swiss-made solar-powered plane, Solar Impulse
Piloted by Bertrand Piccard, the Solar Impulse, an experimental plane which flies without fuel, took off shortly after 6:00 am (0700 GMT), heading towards Barajas airport in Madrid.
The hi-tech aircraft, which has the wingspan of a jumbo jet but weighs no more than a medium-sized car, is fitted with 12,000 solar cells feeding four electric motors driving propellers.
Strong winds had grounded the Swiss-made aircraft in Morocco on Tuesday, after it arrived in Rabat a week ago following a successful flight over the Moroccan desert.
It is not known exactly when it is due to return to Switzerland -- capping its first round-trip between Europe and North Africa.
Last month, the solar-powered plane made the 2,500-kilometre (1,550-mile) journey from Madrid to Rabat, its longest to date and its first between continents, after an inaugural flight to Paris and Brussels last year.
The flights are intended as a rehearsal for the goal of a round-the-world trip in 2014 by an updated version of the plane.