Stranded French Tourists Scramble as Morocco Halts Flights Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Surprised by this decision by Morocco, these Franc-Comtois tourists no longer know which way to turn. This is the case of a couple living near Héricourt, who, after a week of vacation in Agadir, were confronted with the harsh reality: their Easy Jet flight scheduled for 7 p.m. was canceled.

While they expected to be informed, as is often the case with their airline, this couple rather learned the news from their friends, whose flight was scheduled a little earlier on Saturday, March 14. "Our friends went to the airport and found that their flight was canceled. No message from the company. As for us, no news. So we contacted the Basel airport, which confirmed the cancellation of our flight. And it was at 5:50 p.m. that we were notified by our company," the couple recounts painfully. Now forced to continue their stay at their own expense, they had to book a room as well as meals for two days, while waiting to find a solution to this situation.

Just like this couple, Emmanuel, a doctor from Haute-Saône, is also stranded in Agadir, reports france3. On the Facebook page of the French media, he recounts his misadventure by announcing the closure of the French consulate, which has posted a notice with their number and that of the embassy in Rabat. "Three planes chartered by the Transavia company were stormed, with a reservation after 10 p.m. yesterday; and, when validating the payment, everything was full! We are in feverish anticipation of the opening of this company’s website... I hesitate, I am a general practitioner; I would be more useful in France right now than stuck here," he specifies.

Another more unfortunate couple is determined to return by any means to take care of their three children aged 10, 7 and 3, as well as their bakery that employs a dozen employees. "We left Dole for Marrakech on Friday, March 13 at 10:40 a.m. During our flight at 12:33 p.m., the king and Macron decided to close the borders. We were supposed to return on Tuesday, March 17... We have no information from the consulate in Morocco. Our Ryanair company completely let us down..." testifies the same couple.

Like the French, stranded in Morocco, thousands of Moroccans are also awaiting repatriation at French airports and ports. These Moroccans living abroad are all the more dissatisfied as the special planes, tasked with bringing tourists back from Morocco, are returning empty.