The administrative tribunal of Rabat summoned theONCF (Office National des Chemins de Fer) to pay compensation of 50,000 dirhams to a passenger for having been delayed for one hour, because of which the man had missed his flight to Canada from Mohammed V airport of Casablanca.
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The man in question is called Driss El Ouali. He is a member of the Moroccan Network for the Right of Access to Information (REMDI), and was due to travel to Ottawa to participate in the Global Partnership Summit which took place from May 29 to 31. Having missed his flight because of the delay and lost the first day of the conference, Mr. El Ouali deemed it necessary to receive compensation of 100,000 dirhams in damages, in addition to legal costs. For its part, the national office tried everything to release responsibility, qualifying the delay as “normal”, but the court rejected the argument and ordered that a sum of 50,000 dirhams be paid to the user.
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It should be noted that article 479 of the Commercial Code stipulates that “ If the departure is delayed, the traveler is entitled to damages. If the delay is abnormal or when because of the delay, the traveler no longer has any interest in completing the trip, he also has the right to terminate the contract or to recover the price of the trip he has paid. He is not entitled to damages if the delay depends on a fortuitous event or force majeure« .