Passenger fined, banned after trying to open plane door mid-flight

A passenger was slapped with a 600 euro fine after he tried to open a plane door at 30,000 feet which he allegedly mistook as a door leading to the toilet.

James Gray was in an Edinburgh to Amsterdam flight via KLM when the incident happened, UK newspaper The Telegraph reported on Sunday.

Gray said that he only touched the handle, confusing it for the door to the toilet.

As soon as the plane landed in Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, he was escorted and placed in a detention center.

“The crew told me to stay in my seat and I was to be arrested when the plane landed. I tried to explain it was a simple mistake. It was a misunderstanding. The police came and arrested me. They weren’t too friendly,” Gray was quoted as saying.

He was also not allowed to fly via KLM on his way back to Edinburgh after he was notified that he was banned from flying with the airline for five years.

Gray needed to borrow money from a friend in order to buy a plane ticket home.

“I was charged and fined 600 euros. I only had 750 euros with me so I had to borrow money for the rest of the stay over there,” he said. AJH/RAM