Passengers aboard a Royal Air Maroc (RAM) flight from Casablanca to Manchester were left stranded without their luggage for days after a cockroach infestation was discovered in the aircraft’s cargo hold, according to the British Outlet, The Independent.
RAM Flight AT818 touched down at Manchester Airport on time at 5:20 p.m. on Thursday, August 15. However, what should have been a routine arrival turned into a prolonged ordeal as passengers, including senior travel industry executive Karen Gee, waited for hours in vain for their luggage.
“I checked my AirTag and saw my suitcase had made it to Manchester, but after 90 minutes, no bags had appeared and no one was telling us anything,” Gee recounted to the news outlet.
The root of the problem soon became clear: the cargo hold of the RAM Boeing 737 had been found to be infested with cockroaches.
Due to strict health and safety protocols, airport staff were barred from handling any luggage, leaving passengers with little choice but to leave the airport empty-handed.
As the delay stretched on, passengers were advised to go home and wait for further updates. To their shock, the infested plane was sealed and flown back to RAM’s hub at Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport — with all the passengers’ luggage still onboard.
Once back in Casablanca, cockroach infested luggage was taken out of the aircraft for it to resume its scheduled flights to destinations including Abuja, Geneva, and Paris.
Despite multiple opportunities, the luggage was not transferred to the next RAM flight to Manchester, prolonging the passengers’ frustration and anxiety, as reported by The Independent.
Five days after the initial incident, Gee and many others were still waiting for their belongings to be returned. The potential for cockroaches to have infiltrated her soft-sided suitcases only added to her concerns.
The incident has sparked criticism of the Moroccan airline’s handling of the situation, particularly the lack of clear communication and the decision to continue flying the infested aircraft without addressing the issue.
As of now, Royal Air Maroc has yet to issue an official statement on the incident or provide a timeline for when passengers can expect their luggage to be returned.
