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
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.