Dutch Lawmakers Want Answers

A KLM flight from Amsterdam to Mexico City was denied permission to overfly the US Friday, leading two Dutch lawmakers to wonder aloud just how the US got information on passengers who weren't landing anywhere near an American airport.

Media reports indicate the flight, with 278 passengers on board, was turned away at the last minute, while approaching the Canadian-US border.

The reason? American authorities told the airline two passengers were security risks. The aircraft returned to Amsterdam without incident.

"Was there no other option than to make this plane turn around above Canada?" That question, submitted to Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner by legislators Peter van Heemst and Co Verdas, was just one in a laundry list of things the two lawmakers want to know. By Dutch law, Donner must answer. "What was it these people were suspected of by the United States that they couldn't pass through its airspace... and why isn't that information known in Holland?"

Further, the lawmakers want to know, how did US authorities know about these two passengers? The two passengers, both citizens of Saudi Arabia, weren't destined for the US. And reports from the Netherlands indicate the two passengers, whose names weren't released, weren't on any no-fly list shared between the US and the Netherlands. Finally, if they were so dangerous, the lawmakers ask, why wasn't the plane ordered to land immediately, rather than risk the return flight all the way to Amsterdam.

KLM executives are now considering suing the US government to recoup losses from the flight. The aircraft and the 276 passengers who were not mentioned by concerned American authorities made the trip to Mexico City without further problems. The two passengers at the center of the flap were not arrested when the aircraft returned to Amsterdam.

"Of course we know who they are. But there was no reason to arrest them," said Justice Minister Wim Kok, quoted by the Associated Press. "There was also no request to arrest them from the US side."

FMI: www.klm.com