The captain is worried: “It seems as if we, as a crew, are increasingly powerless, while we are responsible for the safety of hundreds of people on board. And the perpetrators come away with a meager fine.”
A fine of 125 euros
A father was fined 125 euros in July because he did not want to put his baby upright while the plane is falling. Nieman was present at the court case out of curiosity and found this punishment much too skinny.
“This is simply not in proportion to the misery it brings on board,” he responds. The incident did not take place on board, but as a pilot he wanted to see how the incident process would go. “If there is a lot of trammal on board, and it really does something to the people, but it ends with a fine of 125 euros, – yes that lives. Then people say: what do I do all that effort for?” Nieman then refers to making a declaration, which often takes quite some time.
Punishment is often moderate
Guidelines are for the penalties for order -towering passengers. Often there is a violation (such as not listening to the crew) and not a crime. When flight safety is at stake, such as when crew members are attacked and they are kept out of work, the penalties are higher. For example, a man who got a fellow passenger during a KLM flight last year three months in prison imposed.