KLM flight en route to Calgary following detour back to Amsterdam due to unruly passenger
A KLM flight bound for Calgary was delayed Sunday morning when an unruly passenger forced the airline to return to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.
An aggressive passenger was handcuffed by the crew, according to an article by Doron Sajet in nhniews.nl.
The plane, a Boeing 777-200, was close to Iceland at the time, but turned around and returned to the airport in Amsterdam.
It's not yet clear who the passenger was targeting, but the man was overpowered and had to be handcuffed to his seat.
Dutch police met the flight at Schiphol Airport to retrieve the passenger.
The flight, KL0677, then departed Schiphol Airport at 7:07 p.m. Amsterdam time. It's now scheduled to arrive in Calgary at 7:54 p.m MT.
The flight delay impacted some people trying to fly out of Calgary.
Twenty-eight students from Calgary Academy were supposed to fly with KLM to Amsterdam to connect to Tanzania to help out a school there. That flight was cancelled, causing the students to miss their connection and reschedule to fly out Sunday night.
“So now everything is pushed back a day,” one student, Sophie Mook, said.
“It sucks. It’s sad because a lot of people paid for their trip themselves so, losing that chance and that opportunity to help other people, because of one person, it just shows how much it affects other people.”
John Gradek, the head of McGill University's aviation management program, called the actions taken by the flight crew in this case reasonable.
He told CTV News Calgary if a passenger is considered a threat or they are disrupting others on board, the crew can take action, typically starting with a warning but escalating to more serious action if their behaviour doesn’t change.
“If you’re a passenger on the airplane and you see this, it is not a pleasant sight to see, and you want to make sure the airline acts in the interest of passenger safety and crew safety, bringing this aircraft back on the ground,” Gradek said.
Gradek says KLM is not required to provide compensation to the passengers impacted because the situation was out of the airline’s control.
“It was a security issue and it really was something that the rules exempt the airline from compensation as a result of this incident,” he said.
“So, if KLM decides to do anything, it'll be because KLM feels that they’re being a good service provider and want to do something, but there's no obligation for them to do anything.”
CTV News has reached out to KLM and the Dutch police for details, but haven't yet heard back.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo moved to medium-security prison in Quebec
Notorious serial rapist and killer Paul Bernardo was moved to a medium-security prison in Quebec this week.

Special rapporteur David Johnston’s office hired crisis communications firm Navigator
Special rapporteur David Johnston has hired crisis communications firm Navigator, his office confirmed on Friday.
Here's what Nova Scotia's wildfires look like from outer space
Photos released by NASA taken from International Space Station show the immense scale of the wildfires in Nova Scotia, with billowing smoke engulfing the landscape.
Air Canada should face more consequences after two disruptions in a week, consumer advocate says
An airline consumer advocate says Air Canada should face tougher consequences for stranding passengers after two disruptions in a week.
Canada's 'unprecedented' fire season linked to climate change, will be the new normal: scientists
At the moment, wildfires are burning across six provinces and one territory in Canada — and they’re still spreading in what’s being called an unprecedented fire season. While firefighters work tirelessly to battle the merciless flames and prevent further destruction, scientists say the wildfires are linked to climate change and that this will be the new normal.
'Utterly disgusting': Canadian Army sergeant fined for 'anti-Jewish' comments
A 38-year-old sergeant in the Canadian Army was fined $3,000 and issued a severe reprimand after he made what a military judge described as 'utterly disgusting' anti-Jewish comments while conducting an infantry training course in 2021.
Experts warn of 'rapid' growth of IBD as number of Canadians diagnosed set to reach 470K by 2035
The number of people in Canada with inflammatory bowel disease is increasing rapidly and is expected to grow to 470,000 by 2035, according to a new report from Crohn's and Colitis Canada.
'Many, many lives turned upside down' by wildfires: N.S. premier
Nova Scotia’s premier says the “historic” wildfires in the province have caused a “breath-taking amount of damage.”
Trudeau raises Poland's democratic backsliding as prime minister visits Toronto
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he raised concerns about reports that LGBTQ2S+ rights and democracy are under threat in Poland during a Friday visit with its prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, in Toronto.