Boarding rights not respected: overbooked Royal Air Maroc flight

In case of denied boarding due to overbooking, RAM owes compensation to its passengers

All passengers who have purchased a ticket are entitled to boarding. However, there are a few recommendations to keep in mind before boarding:

Regarding the denial of the right to board a flight served by Royal Air Maroc, it is the refusal of the airline to carry the passenger on a flight, although it has presented itself for boarding in accordance with the requirements established in the conditions of carriage, unless there are reasonable grounds for refusal, such as health and safety reasons, presentation of inappropriate travel documents.

Overbooking is an example of denied boarding. If boarding is refused against the passenger’s will, the rights that apply are: Right to assistance; Right to reimbursement or alternative transport, Right to immediate compensation, between € 250 and € 600, depending on the distance of the flight.

Why do we sell more tickets than there are seats?

Often, companies put on sale more tickets than their planes have seats in order to compensate for the cancellations of certain passengers and the fact that some will necessarily arrive too late at the airport. This practice is completely legal and the airlines are not ready to give it up, given the financial loss involved. On the other hand, offering compensation to a few passengers when the plane is full is not profitable. . This is the limit of this default system.

Can you be prompted to exit the device?

The answer is yes. There are two ways to leave a plane: intentionally or involuntarily. Often, the more volunteers, the less attractive the compensation offer will be.

What happens if no one accepts?

You will understand, this is where the shoe pinches. Without volunteers, airlines find themselves forced to draw lots for passengers to be taken out. Above all, they want to proceed as quickly as possible since a plane on the ground is a plane that does not bring in money. It is in the air that an airplane is profitable …

If the airline is able to offer you a flight that lands you within an hour of your originally scheduled arrival time, no compensation is required. On the other hand, if the delay exceeds one hour (up to two hours), the compensation must be worth at least twice the price of the flight. If the flight is served by Royal Air Maroc from an airport in Europe, the compensation is at least 250 euros for flights of 1,500 km or less, 400 euros for flights within the European Community of more than 1,500 km and for all other flights from 1,500 km to 3,500 km and 600 euros for all other flights.

Flight delay, overbooking and flight delays: what are your rights?

Sometimes airlines sell more tickets than there are seats to avoid empty seats and sometimes you do have a ticket, but the seats are already full. In this type of situation, air carriers generally ask certain passengers to give up their seats and postpone their flight in return for compensation; however, this strategy is not always successful. They are thus obliged to refuse boarding of some passengers against their will.

Procedures are sometimes difficult, as most airlines are reluctant to compensate their passengers. Fortunately, there are sites on the internet specializing in compensation for canceled, delayed or overbooked flights such as Air Indemnité, which can assist you in all the necessary steps.

If you face this kind of situation, in particular that you were not able to board due to an overbooked flight by Royal Air Maroc, know that you can claim compensation up to € 600 (depending on the distance the route of your flight), in addition to the right to assistance and reimbursement. Of course, some conditions are required to be able to claim such compensation.

If you decide to voluntarily relinquish your seat, you are entitled to re-routing to another flight with a discount voucher or an upgrade. However, if you decide to forgo your trip, you can request a refund.

Air passenger rights reforms and exceptional cases

Since 2004, reforms have been made to the legislation on the rights of air passengers, in order to offer them greater protection, but also to improve the procedures for handling complaints.

Reforms were made to the level of extraordinary circumstances excluding technical problems and “surprise” strikes by the flight crew of an airline. If a flight delay or cancellation is due to a technical problem, the company cannot refuse the payment of compensation. It is the same in the event of “wild” strikes of the personnel.

Passenger handling is compulsory even if the cancellation of a flight is linked to an extraordinary circumstance, moreover, the scope of the regulation is now extended to stopovers outside the EU. This reform was made concerning the delay on correspondence. Of course, the flights must be part of the same reservation and the departure flight must be made from a European airport.