A Royal Air Maroc plane had to make an emergency landing this Friday, September 13 at Marrakech airport. The plane, departing from Casablanca and bound for Abuja, Nigeria, encountered an engine failure mid-flight, forcing it to turn around and land at the departure airport.
Although the plane was able to land safely, a real ordeal began for the passengers. The latter found themselves abandoned at Marrakech airport, where they did not receive adequate support from their airline, according to their testimonies reported by Moroccan media.
The RAM let its passengers wait at the airport “for more than two hours” before assisting them, says the Moroccan news site Bladi, citing the testimony of certain passengers on this flight.
The passengers, who were not transferred to hotels, had to wait “until 1 p.m.” for information on their next trip, while RAM did not immediately organize a replacement flight.
Nigerian passengers abandoned at Marrakech airport: a Nigerian minister furious with RAM
The situation sparked an official reaction in Nigeria. The Nigerian Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, denounced the deplorable conditions in which the Nigerian passengers of Royal Air Maroc found themselves.
The Nigerian minister said in a post on X that the majority of passengers on the diverted flight were Nigerians and that they suffered “inhumane treatment” at the hands of RAM.
The official explains that the Nigerian passengers “were left without care and food at the airport and, as well as without decent shelter”. He adds that “women and children were sleeping on the floor”.
I have just been informed of the inhuman treatment some Nigerians have been subjected to by ROYAL AIR MAROC @RAM_Maroc in Marrakesh, Morocco. My information is that the flight took off from Casablanca and was headed for Abuja, but had to make an emergency landing in Marrakesh for…
— Festus Keyamo, SAN, CON, FCIArb (UK) (@fkeyamo) September 13, 2024
The Nigerian minister called on RAM to “remedy this unacceptable situation” while ordering the consumer protection department of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to “engage in discussions” with the national airline Moroccan so that the latter properly takes care of Nigerian passengers, reports Moroccan media Telquel.
The same source indicates that it contacted Royal Air Maroc about this matter and that the airline indicated it “did not have all the necessary elements” to allow it to comment.
The RAM indicated that it is investigating what happened following the emergency landing of this plane bound for Nigeria which was diverted to Marrakech airport, in to take appropriate measures, reports the Moroccan media.
