Dutch aircraft forced to return to the Netherlands

Airline Industry Information, April 12, 2005

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

Two Dutch lawmakers demanded an explanation Monday (11 April) to why a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight was forced by US authorities to fly back to The Netherlands.

The carrier said its Amsterdam to Mexico City flight on Friday (8 April) with 278 passengers on board was refused permission to fly over US airspace at the last minute and was told that two passengers were a security risk. The flight had to turn around above Canada and fly back to Amsterdam. It then re-flew its original route with 276 passengers on board.

In a list of questions to the Dutch justice minister, the two law makers asked, among other questions, what the two passengers were suspected of by the US and why that information was not known in Holland. Dutch law requires ministers to respond to lawmakers' questions within three weeks.

The passengers, whose names and nationalities were not released, were not on shared European-US no-fly lists, KLM said, adding that it might file a claim for damages of less than USD1m.

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