Dutch fighter jets escort US plane back to Amsterdam
Dutch F-16s escorted a Northwest Airlines flight bound for India back to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport today, and authorities detained several passengers for questioning.
The pilot requested permission to return as the aircraft was flying over Germany shortly after leaving Amsterdam, and asked for a military escort, said spokeswoman Pamela Kuypers.
Customs police were investigating the security alert, and airport authorities had no further information on what caused the alarm, she said.
The Dutch National Terrorism Co-ordinator’s Office was informed, but said there was no cause to raise the nation’s terror threat level, said spokeswoman Judith Sluiter.
“It is the same as it was before – light threat,” said Sluiter.
It was not immediately clear how many passengers were on board, but a Northwest DC 10 has a seating capacity of 273, and Kuypers said the plane was full “as far as I know”.
Rick Hirs, a spokesman for the customs police at Schiphol, said it was not yet clear why the plane returned.
“We don’t know yet. We are interviewing passengers and crew members,” he said.
Hirs said nobody on the plane had been arrested.
Kuypers said the aircraft was parked at the gate and all other passengers were disembarking. “Everyone is safe,” she said.
Last year, a British Airways flight returned to Schiphol after takeoff in similar circumstances, but turned out to be a false alarm.
