The departure of former Tunisian president Zine el- Abadine Ben Ali's relatives from Tunisia was not without its difficulties, al-Arabiya reported Saturday.
Mohammed Bin Kilani, a pilot with state-owned Tunis Air, told the broadcaster that he and his co-pilot refused to delay a plane headed to Paris on Friday that some Ben Ali supporters had hoped to use to make a quick exit from the North African nation in political turmoil, dpa reported.
"I'm no hero. I was just doing my job," said Bin Kilani, who said his co-pilot agreed with him that they shouldn't keep the plane's 103 passengers waiting for the unnamed "important passengers" who were hoping to board.
He added that he had no desire to help anyone who had committed crimes against the Tunisian people to flee the country.
Ben Ali found a plane to take him to Saudi Arabia Friday night. Other Arabic media reported that some members of Ben Ali's entourage fled Tunisia by car for Libya.