Nine Moroccan nationals have been released by a court in Majorca after being arrested for causing a disturbance on a plane when it made an emergency landing at Palma Airport. The seven men and two women were detained after becoming agitated following a delay in resuming the flight after it landed because a woman was going into labour, the Majorca Daily Bulletin (MDB) reports. They were passengers on an Air Arabia flight from Rabat to Istanbul on Thursday, December 11, which was temporarily diverted to the capital of the largest Balearic Island to allow the pregnant woman to disembark.
She was safely dispatched to a hospital after the plane arrived in Palma, after which the remaining passengers and crew experienced an unexplained delay before taking off again. In the interim period, chaos broke out on the aircraft, with members of the cabin crew assaulted and the Guardia Civil, Spain’s national police force, called in to break up the conflict.
After they were arrested, the plane took off without them, according to reports.
During an appearance in court on Friday, they chose not to testify and were released, although one was re-arrested for his behaviour while in custody.
Six were scheduled to return to Morocco before the end of the week, while the others remained in Spain, according to the MDB.
The incident comes ahead of what could be a chaotic festive season for travellers on Spain’s airline network, with industrial action planned across southern Europe in the coming weeks.
Disruption began in Spain back in August as part of a baggage-handlers’ strike by Azhul Handling, a company that forms part of the Ryanair group. The strike action is set to continue until December 31, likely impacting holidaymakers hoping for a winter break.
The coordinated walkouts are happening across the country for four days a week – on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays – at three daily time slots, coinciding with some of the busiest times for airport travel.
Ryanair has said it expects to operate planned flight schedules over the Christmas period as usual but acknowledged that delays cannot be ruled out as disputes continue over unresolved overtime payments, bonus agreements and a lack of stability for part-time workers.
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