Escapees forced Air Arabia Maroc crew to keep plane doors open

The situation onboard has been described as extremely tense, chaotic and aggressive with the crew fearing they would be physically harmed.

12 of the escapees were arrested over the weekend and are now in jail, the rest are on the run and at least 2 are known to have fled to the mainland.

Investigators believe the escape was premeditated and are also trying to determine why the plane returned to Casablanca instead of continuing on to Istanbul as planned.

“This incident caused chaos at Palma Airport and is unprecedented in European airspace with press from all over the world reporting the events and questioning airspace security,” said Judge Rosa Mas.