KLM had some explaining to do last week—and then some more when it turned out the original explanation wasn’t true—after flying 286 passengers from Amsterdam to Amsterdam by way of Eastern Canada, but without a stop.
The flight, on one of KLM’s ‘Combi’ 747s that haul both passengers and freight, was bound for Mexico City. At first, the airline tweeted that “The reason for the return was the unfavorable flying conditions above Mexico after activity of the volcano,” referring to an eruption about a 90-minute drive from the city.
That story came unglued when passengers realized that while they had turned around, other planes from Europe and all over were still landing at Mexico City. And they wondered why, if Mexico City wasn’t possible, the plane couldn’t have landed somewhere on the right side of the ocean.
Then the real reason came out: In the cargo hold, the plane was carrying 28 horses. After first insisting to a reporter “Please know that we don’t transport horses,” the airline admitted that it did, and that it couldn’t land at an alternate airport because of quarantine issues and the lack of facilities to care for the equine passengers.
Passengers were rebooked on other flights, with many complaining about the lost day, and about being forced onto flights with multiple stopovers.
