Royal Air Maroc Faces Lawsuit After Passenger Dies Mid-Flight

On February 8, 2023, Marie-Thérèse flew from Montpellier to Dakar to pay respects at the grave of her eldest son, who had died a year earlier. Her death was announced upon landing on the tarmac of Dakar airport, after three hours of flight. Marie Diop, known as "Fifi," the deceased’s daughter, blames the Royal Air Maroc crew for not attempting to resuscitate her mother. She is suing the Moroccan company for "negligence" leading to Marie-Thérèse’s death.

Born in Casamance, Senegal, Marie-Thérèse was the mother of eight children. "She was beautiful, radiant, dressed in an elegant Senegalese outfit. I told her she looked magnificent. She smiled at me, thanked me for arranging assistance for her flight," Fifi confides to Le Parisien. The sexagenarian’s daughter had arranged passenger assistance at the airport with Royal Air Maroc for her mother, who suffered from palpitations and had been monitored for weeks by a Holter that recorded her heart movements.

Unfortunately, Marie-Thérèse never received this assistance. According to witnesses, the elderly lady, carrying her bag and small suitcase, boarded the plane alone, "out of breath, exhausted, looking at the ground, walking with difficulty." Once in her seat, the sexagenarian remained with her eyes closed for minutes. Concerned, her neighbors alerted the crew. "I worry and call the hosts, they bring a finger oximeter and tell me there’s nothing to worry about and that she’s fine," recounts a passenger.

The same passenger approaches the crew again nearly an hour later to inform them that Marie-Thérèse is still "not responding." Still no reaction from the crew. Finally, a passenger, a doctor by profession, takes an oxygen bottle and places the mask on Marie-Thérèse’s face. But it was already too late, as according to the elderly lady’s neighbor, her hand was already cold and stiff. Senegalese firefighters confirm Marie-Thérèse’s death upon landing.

"I will never forget that phone call, in the middle of the night, announcing her death," says Fifi, who "has been living with unspeakable pain since." The thirty-something is still in shock. She blames herself for buying the ticket that "cost her mother’s life." "She stayed there. She was in distress, but the plane crew did nothing. She died there, alone, ignored, in front of everyone," laments Marie Diop, inconsolable. Marie-Thérèse’s daughter is pursuing civil action against the Moroccan company for "negligence," particularly for "ignoring the various alerts" and "failing to perform first aid" on the victim. For its part, Royal Air Maroc "denies any responsibility."