Schotte sat in the middle of the plane, next to an unfortunate woman who suddenly saw maggots landing on her. “During take-off I noticed that the woman was doing something,” says the Dutchman. “But I couldn’t see it very well. At one point I saw her brushing maggots off her chair with a piece of paper. When she noticed me, she told me that the maggots were falling from the overhead bin. She was quite shocked by it,” says Schotte. How would you be?
The Dutchman says that he and the woman warned the airline crew. “The crew immediately checked where the maggots came from. When we opened the luggage compartment above us, about ten more fell on the woman and the empty seats between us.” According to Schotte, the owner of the bag told him that it contained fish. Rotten fish, as it turned out when the bag was opened. Schotte: “Everyone who sat near that bag pinched his or her nose.” He himself sat a few rows back.
According to Schotte, the bag was wrapped in plastic and taken to the back of the plane. British media report that the pilot of the plane above the United Kingdom decided to return to Amsterdam. According to Schotte, several passengers became ‘paranoid’ in the meantime. “People started using the flashlight on their phones to check if there were any maggots crawling around.”
The Dutchman does not know whether the owner of the bag started his journey in the Netherlands or whether he had a transfer via Schiphol. Schotte also does not know whether the man was allowed to continue his journey. He does find it interesting that the rotten fish and live maggots were not noticed. “I can imagine that the bag smelled unopened. I find it remarkable that it was not noticed.”