A group of Moroccan passengers are taking Air France to court after a pilot joked that 'His Majesty the King of Morocco' was delaying their flight from Casablanca.

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An Air France pilot has landed the company in hot water after joking about the king of Morocco while waiting to take off at Casablanca airport.

Passengers complained after the pilot announced that the presence of the king’s personal jet on the runway was delaying the flight.

“The control tower won’t let me take off until 'His Majesty the King of Morocco' has finished relaxing in the VIP lounge,” he said, according to the E-Marrakech news site.

“Those passengers who want to complain and get their tickets reimbursed can do so by writing to King Mohammed VI, the Royal Palace, Rabat.”

Some passengers were not amused, including Abderrahmane, who told Yabiladi News that the pilot had the temerity to repeat the slur in English.

‘Disgraceful’

A group of the Moroccan travellers made an official complaint to Air France, the national carrier of the African country’s former colonial ruler.

The announcement, they said, was “the most disgraceful example of a certain superiority complex” inherited from that era.

Air France CEO Alexandre de Juniac sent a letter to the group apologising for the December 5 incident, adding that the pilot in question “would be sanctioned” for the offence.

Unfortunately for Air France, the letter has not closed the book on the story, and the passengers have decided to take their complaint to court and to ask for the airline to hand over the cockpit recording of the incident.

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