Moroccan airline removes autistic Hong Kong ultra runner from flight, leaving him alone and frightened – and in a taxi to Marrakesh
- Wu Man-hang is barred from boarding a flight because it is overbooked, but staff fail to take into account his autism
- Airline refuses other Marathon des Sables runner’s offer to swap and assures his group he will be on the next flight, but it is from an airport four hours away
The sister of an autistic Hong Kong ultramarathon runner who was bumped off a flight in Morocco and left alone in an airport has complained about the “appalling, unprofessional and non-human approach” taken by the country’s largest airline.
Royal Air Maroc overbooked a flight and as a result left Wu Man-hang, who suffers from autism, alone in Ouarzazate airport, before sending him four hours across the desert alone in a taxi to Marrakesh, where his nightmare continued.
“The issue is appalling,” Elaine Wu said in an official complaint to the airline. “In particular, I am writing to complain about the unprofessional and non-human approach taken by AT [Royal Air Maroc] in the first stance, and demand a written apology and monetary compensation, as well as urge you to take serious effort to protect the interest of passengers with disabilities on special travel needs.”
Wu, 40, had taken part in the gruelling multi-day 250km Marathon des Sables (MDS) this month, but little did he know, the journey home would be far harder than the race itself.
Wu and four other Hongkongers arrived at the airport in Ouarzazate, in southern Morocco, with plenty of time to make their flight to Casablanca. Three of the group have autism and the other two had volunteered to act as carers during their time abroad.