On Wednesday, December 7, 2022, Pegasus flight PC652 en route from Casablanca to Istanbul Sabiha Göckcen had to make an unscheduled stopover at Barcelona due to a woman faking labor pains. After landing, 28 passengers tried to flee across the runway.

An apparently pregnant woman reported about an hour and 45 minutes after takeoff that she was said to have gone into labor. The captain, informed by the cabin crew, then decided that a stopover should be made in Barcelona. However, a later medical examination carried out in Spain revealed that the lady was only five months pregnant. Doctors believe the alleged labor pains were faked in order to "force" a landing in the European Union.

This is also indicated by the official statement from the police. According to a statement from the executive, a total of 28 passengers who allegedly took care of the person responsible after landing took the opportunity to leave the plane despite instructions to the contrary. They are said to have tried to flee the runway at Barcelona Airport. But they didn't get far.

The airport security service and the Spanish police intervened immediately and “collected” the fugitives. The handcuffs clicked on 14 people because they were arrested. Eight others were decided to be deported back to Morocco immediately and five were forced by the police to reboard the Pegasus jet. The executive gave no information on the remaining two people.

Similar incident on the same route last year

Law enforcement believes there is a direct connection to the fake labor. An investigation was initiated against the lady because of a serious interference with flight safety and possible other crimes. The police assume that this is a repeat of an incident that happened about a year ago. At that time, too, a medical emergency was faked in order to try to enter the EU illegally.

Coincidentally, even the same flight route is affected, because in November 2021 Air Arabia was flying between Casablanca and Istanbul. Some time after takeoff, a medical emergency was faked, which prompted the captain to make a stopover at Palma de Mallorca Airport as a precaution. There, around 20 people used the moment when the supposedly sick person was being cared for to try to escape. At that time, the police arrested eleven people while nine others had to continue their journey or were deported immediately.