A British tourist has accused Marrakech airport police of mistreatment and intimidation after encountering difficulties when she lost her passport on a Ryanair flight, which ultimately led to her deportation from Morocco.
Rebecca McCurry, 22, arrived at Marrakech airport in July with three friends, only to realize shortly after disembarking that she had left her passport on her seat. Despite immediately notifying airport staff, she was not permitted to return to the plane to retrieve her document.
According to her account in The London Standard, the situation escalated due to the “demeaning and frightening” manner of the airport border police, who subjected her to hours of interrogation.
McCurry stated that four police officers took her to an interrogation room, where they mocked her and repeatedly referred to her as “the little girl.” During this time, she experienced severe anxiety attacks that caused her to faint multiple times due to pre-existing health issues, including chronic pain and muscle spasms.
“I felt invisible. They did not treat me as a human being. They laughed at me while I spoke to them, showing no empathy for my health or mental state,” she said. “I explained that the plane I arrived on was still on the runway and that my passport could be retrieved, but they refused to listen.”
The officers informed her that there might not be a flight back to the UK for five days, heightening her panic. After three hours of questioning, McCurry was left in a fast-food restaurant at the airport to await her fate, without any care or follow-up.
### Airline Response
Although Ryanair later announced that her passport had been found in the same seat she was in and was returned to the lost and found at Edinburgh Airport, McCurry insists that the entire incident was due to a “communication failure” and a “lack of respect” from Moroccan police.
In an official statement, the airline clarified that the traveler “did not present her passport upon arrival in Marrakech, and therefore was denied entry based on the request of Moroccan authorities.” They noted that they returned her to the UK on the earliest available flight.
McCurry, who works as a childcare provider in Scotland, shared her story to highlight what she described as the “cruel and unprofessional treatment” she received from border police and to warn travelers about the risks of losing documents in airports, especially in countries with strict entry protocols.
“In the end, it wasn’t just a simple travel mistake; it turned into a terrifying experience due to how the authorities handled me. I felt I lost all control, and no one cared to help,” she concluded.
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