Moroccan Professor Alleges Racial Discrimination at Barcelona Airport

"It all starts with a 2 kg excess baggage at the time of boarding," explains Maha Tazi to the colleagues of HuffPost Maroc, who finally decided to take her flight with another airline to reach Casablanca, after 3 days of waiting. "At the time of checking in the luggage, this person asked me to remove the overweight or to get rid of my suitcase. When I threatened to report this verbal assault to a crew member, she replied: ’Go, go make a complaint, don’t bother me,’" confides the young Moroccan, Doctor of Communication.

That’s when she complied by going to file her complaint, accompanied by two witnesses. However, once there, she found the flight attendant in question alongside a Spanish colleague. "She then justified herself to her colleague by claiming that I had insulted her in Arabic, before seizing my passport and tearing up my boarding pass," protests Maha Tazi, who says she was threatened by the flight attendant in question, determined not to let her board the plane. As proof, she continues, "when I tried to take back my passport, she physically assaulted me, as shown by the marks on my hands."

Curiously, the Spanish colleague in turn prevented Maha Tazi from boarding the plane on the grounds of "bad behavior", telling her that it would be better for her to buy another ticket in order to "return for good to her country".

After that, she will spend three days without her belongings. She will eventually take another plane at her own expense to return home. "I’ve been without my luggage since Sunday night, and they said they would send it to me tomorrow night in Casablanca," she notes. In reality, the airline had offered her a replacement flight to Fez, while she was heading to Casablanca.

Contacted by the colleagues of HuffPost Maroc, the officials of this Emirati company, who seem well informed about the case, said they "attach particular importance to Maha Tazi’s complaint".