Unscheduled landing in PMI

[zambonidriver]

A new (creative ?) way to force your way into Europe. Hope it is a one-off.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59191108The drama began when emergency services boarded the Air Arabia Maroc plane to evacuate a Moroccan man said to have fallen into a diabetic coma. As they did so, 21 other passengers ran down the steps and fled, reportedly hiding under parked planes.

After a health check at a hospital found him to be fit and well, the Moroccan man was discharged and arrested for illegally entering the country, Spain's Efe news agency reports. A fellow passenger accompanying him to the hospital reportedly disappeared.

[Lepo]

Seems like a planned action by the group to illegally enter Spain.

[zambonidriver]

According to people on the ground I have contact with (PMI ground staff) there is very little doubt it was planed. But apparently politically incorrect to suggest so.

[fox niner]

News travels fast. There is a chance that others will try this as well, now that they have seen that is works. Copy cats.
Any flights that traverse over the EU or the US, but have neither of these entities as a destination, are at risk.
Especially airlines that originate from just outside these regions. AeroMexico, Turkish, Aeroflot, Royal Air Maroc, Egyptair, etc.

[SMT Member]

Not in this neck of the woods (Denmark) it ain't; has been quite clearly reported as a deliberate attempt to gain access to the EU through a, more or less, well planned exercise.

It was a rather clever plot, designed to utilise a particular weakness in the defence agains illegal immigration. Only downside, from the plotters point of view, might be that they're now stranded on an island with little chance of making it to mainland Europe.

[Old King Coal]

Given the route (Casablanca to Istanbul), the aircraft could equally have diverted to any number of airports in Algeria.... which would have somewhat scuppered their plan... indeed you almost have to wonder if the crew were in on the deception?

[DaveReidUK]

Not really.

Typical routeing for that flight:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/630x459/cas_saw_9c8399e0cbf4ea171c87c1a4224fe06e73fd2175.jpg

[Airbanda]

Indeed

I wonder if landing at PMI sent their plans awry; a landing on the Spanish Mainland would have made disappearance easier.

[ATC Watcher]

Well if you read the NOTAMs you will see that Algeria does nor allow Air Maroc to overfly its territory anymore . As to suggest that the crew were in on that, what kind of fact do you have to suggest that ? You know the procedure when a Pax gets sick on board ?

[FUMR]

I'm also of the opinion that the plotters had planned for a diversion to an airport on the Spanish mainland. They failed to take into account the time process for the crew to make the decision to divert.

[J1J]

Escaping or disappearing from an airport raises serious perimeter security questions does it not?

[falcon10]

Apparently the latest is some of the plotters brought ferry tickets to the mainland, while 12 have already been arrested. Yet the Spanish are still trying to spin this as something else. Their incompetence is stunning to say the least.