11 May 2026
Seventeen light aircraft will lift off from Toulouse-Lasbordes on 14 May for a 6,000-kilometre journey that blends aviation adventure with literary history, retracing the route that inspired Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and The Little Prince.
The fifth Toulouse–Tarfaya / Cap Juby rally, organised by Air Aventures, has attracted a record field this year, with crews from France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands taking part in the 10-day expedition across Spain and Morocco.
More than simply a flying tour, the rally follows the footsteps of Saint-Exupéry, who served as airfield commander in Tarfaya — then known as Cap Juby — in 1927 and 1928.
During his time there he wrote Courrier Sud, a novel that would shape much of his later work and eventually feed into the world of The Little Prince. This year’s event also coincides with the 80th anniversary of the book’s first publication in France.
Rally route
The fleet will include Robin, Cirrus, Cessna and Piper aircraft, escorted by two of the organisers’ aircraft, departing Toulouse on 14 May before routing south through Spain into Morocco. Stops include Tangier, Essaouira, Tarfaya, Ouarzazate and Fès before the rally concludes in Alicante on 23 May.
Alongside the romance of desert flying and Aéropostale nostalgia, the rally has developed a growing humanitarian and educational dimension.
This year, crews will carry two telescopes and a spotting scope to Tarfaya as part of the “Le bivouac Du Sable et des Étoiles” project, helping local children take part in astronomy workshops beneath the Saharan night sky.
The organisation will also donate laptops to the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Museum in Tarfaya, while a restored monument commemorating the pioneering Latécoère and Aéropostale crews will be unveiled during the rally’s visit on 17 May.
Founded in 1983, Air Aventures is best known for the long-running Toulouse–Saint Louis du Sénégal rally, which has celebrated the heritage of the Aéropostale routes for more than four decades.
The newer Tarfaya rally, launched in 2022, focuses specifically on Saint-Exupéry’s North African years and the enduring appeal of his most famous creation.
For many of the crews, the attraction lies not only in the challenge of long-distance flying, but in reconnecting with an era when aviation still carried the spirit of exploration. As the aircraft head south towards the edge of the Sahara, the rally promises a reminder that some journeys are measured in stories as much as miles.
