Passengers Block Plane Takeoff to Prevent Migrant Deportation in Canary Islands

"Spaniard, what have I done? Open the door, I want to get off," the man from Conakry, Guinea, bound with a seat belt and sitting on the floor of the plane, pleaded. This cry of despair from the migrant escorted by two national police officers was heard by three passengers on board, later joined by others, who prevented the plane from taking off, demanding the release of the migrant who finally got off the plane, reports El Diario.

The flight was paralyzed to "leave this person on the island," the national police confirmed. According to a witness on board, the migrant was asking not to be deported to his country because once there, he would be detained. Three passengers tried to find out if he had applied for asylum, a question he answered in the negative. It was then that the passengers exchanged with the agents escorting the migrant, denouncing a violation of the expulsion procedure, adds the witness.

The crew tried to calm the passengers, asking them to sit down for takeoff. The national police officers, for their part, requested the suspension of the flight, pending instructions from their hierarchy. After a call to the Emergency and Security Coordination Center, and the intervention of the passengers, one of whom spoke with the captain, the plane remained on the ground and the migrant got off.