Air Canada Rouge will begin seasonal service to five new destinations in mid-2016, including Air Canada's first route to Africa.

The leisure carrier will launch flights to Casablanca, Budapest, Prague, Warsaw and Glasgow.

"Air Canada is solidifying its position among leading global carriers by becoming one of only a dozen airlines flying to six continents with today's announcement of non-stop service to Casablanca, our first destination in Africa," says Air Canada's president for passenger airlines Benjamin Smith.

"Our Montreal-Casablanca flight will also be the only service to North Africa by a North American carrier and our aim is to transform this new route into a year-round operation."

The Montreal-Casablanca route will launch with four times weekly service on 3 June. Rouge will begin Toronto-Prague flights on 29 May, followed by Toronto-Budapest service on 10 June, Toronto-Glasgow on 13 June and Toronto-Warsaw on 16 June. The airline will fly thrice weekly each to the European cities. All the new flights will be operated with Boeing 767-300ERs.

Rouge will compete against Royal Air Maroc on the Montreal-Casablanca flights, schedules in Innovata show. It will compete against Air Transat on Toronto-Glasgow and LOT Polish Airlines on Toronto-Warsaw. Rouge will be the only airline operating nonstop from Toronto to Budapest and Prague.

Source: Cirium Dashboard