Originally Posted by
redsnail
Good to see nothing's changed at Marrakech. It was like that a few years ago.
Originally Posted by
AeroSpark
Just returned from a short break in Marakech with TUI. LGW going out all very nice and easy, except for 45 min delay due to some idiot having his bag taken off, searched and something removed. He was then offloaded along with his very unhappy looking mrs! RAK on the other hand was a nightmare going in and out. Over an hour just at passport control both ways. 90 min delay at the gate with no information from the worlds most disinterested staff other than 'technical problem' and a shrug of the shoulders. Eventually got going, however very bad weather at LGW meant we tried one very bumpy approach before giving up and going to Birmingham instead, where we then had another 2+ hour wait for coaches back to LGW. I wrote it off as one of those things that happens and at the end of the day we're still alive but got an email from TUI yesterday apologising for the mess up and giving up a £200 per person voucher towards another holiday, fair play to them they didn't have to do that, particularly as I hadn't even complained, I will be thinking very long and hard whether to ever go back to Marrakech though.
RAK was exactly the same when I went in early June. My FR 737 was the only international flight arrival at the time and while they were still doing some covid checks, they were very basic (Staff members just standing around collecting health declarations and nothing else) and that part took no time at all. It was when we entered the immigration hall that it all fell apart. After waiting a good 45 minutes to get to the front of the queue, several people, myself included got told to stand aside after our passports were scanned. No explanation was given, then after about 10 minutes we were led aside and made to line up outside a booth marked "Police". A sole, very bored looking, police officer sat inside staring at a computer screen. After about half an hour with absolutely no explanation (none of us knew each other by the way), we were called in one by one, asked our names, and then with no other questions, the passports were stamped and we were on our way. Complete waste of time and very frustrating. On the way back I was questioned about my name again. I didn't really know what to say other than yes, the name on my passport was mine, hence why it is on my passport! Another few minutes passed and the officer chatted in Arabic to his colleague and then I was asked by the other one if I was sure that was my name (!) and once I confirmed again and asked if they needed any other proof, they stamped my passport and let me go! Bizzare!