Royal Air Maroc has been ordered to pay a hefty fine of €10,000 for transporting a passenger using the French passport of another woman to Paris. The airline contested this penalty, arguing that the fraud was not evident at the time of boarding. However, the administrative tribunal in Paris recently dismissed these claims, emphasizing the airline's responsibility to ensure proper identification.

The incident began on August 2, 2023, at Paris-Orly Airport, when a woman disembarked from a Royal Air Maroc flight arriving from Casablanca. During routine checks, police officers discovered that the French passport she presented actually belonged to someone else. Several physical discrepancies immediately caught their attention, including differences in facial shape, eye characteristics, and the features of her nose and lips, which did not match the photograph on the document.

In response to this violation, the French Ministry of the Interior imposed a fine of €10,000 on Royal Air Maroc through a decision made on July 11, 2024. The airline subsequently took legal action to have this penalty annulled, arguing that the differences between the two women were not sufficiently apparent for boarding agents to detect the impersonation.

Royal Air Maroc specifically challenged the quality of the photographs used for comparison, claiming that the conditions under which the traveler was photographed did not conclusively indicate a manifest irregularity. However, the administrative tribunal in Paris disagreed with this perspective. In its ruling delivered on October 1, 2026, the court referenced the police report prepared by a major at Orly Airport, noting that the physical differences observed were significant enough to indicate that the traveler was not the legitimate passport holder.

French regulations require airlines to verify the documents that allow passengers to enter the territory. An airline may avoid sanctions when the presented papers show no manifest anomalies. However, in this case, the judges determined that this exception did not apply. Royal Air Maroc also sought a reduction or cancellation of the fine as a secondary request, but the judges found no particular circumstances that warranted such a measure.

As a result, the €10,000 penalty has been fully upheld, and the airline lost its request for €2,000 to cover its legal expenses.

As reported by bladi.net.