By Safaa Kasraoui
Rabat – A video posted on social media shows Moroccan security officers forcibly removing a Moroccan passenger from an Italy-bound Ryanair flight before departure on Wednesday morning from Marrakech’s Menara airport.
Filmed by one of the passengers aboard the FR8847 flight that was due to leave at 9:40 a.m., the video went viral, causing outrage among social media users.
The footage shows a policeman, gendarme and another man using force to make the passenger leave the flight. In the recording, they grab him violently and push him down the stairs. When they start to slap his face, the flight’s passengers bang on the windows in attempt to stop the violence.
YouTube channel Dadi TV on Thursday published a video responding to the incident at the El Menara airport. The video’s presenter spoke to passengers aboard the plane, who said that the person who was forced to leave the plane had not done anything wrong. He revealed that the removed passenger had successfully completed the boarding process.
The video presenter added that the passenger “did not comply with the officers’ orders because he did not want to miss his flight.”
The speaker continued that while he is not against Moroccan authorities or their checking process, it is necessary they conduct their actions in an appropriate manner without causing harm.
He concluded that the incident could affect tourism in Morocco, because both national and international passengers were on the flight and reacting to the incident.
