KLM flight 785 from Amsterdam, scheduled to arrive in St. Maarten around 3:00pm on Tuesday, went straight to Curaçao instead of making its usual stopover.
Apparently, the airplane’s crew had discovered a minor technical problem and steered straight towards Curaçao to have the problem solved. There was a hydraulic leakage problem that allowed the plane to land safely in St. Maarten, but would have made it difficult to take off again.
“That is why the crew decided to go straight to Curaçao, where the problem could be fixed,” explained KLM Caribbean General Manager Wim Iserief in Curaçao. The cancellation left 110 passengers headed from the Netherlands to St. Maarten slightly dislocated in Curaçao instead of St. Maarten on Tuesday afternoon. Some 60 passengers waiting for the KLM 785 flight to Curaçao and Amsterdam were stranded at St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana Airport.
Insel Air stepped in to accommodate the passengers who were supposed to arrive in St. Maarten today; they were flown in from Curaçao in the early evening. The passengers stranded in St. Maarten who were going to the Netherlands made it to Curaçao on Insel Air’s return flight.
Iserief expected the airplane to be ready for takeoff later Tuesday night with the St. Maarten passengers on board. “It is an exasperating situation for the passengers, but I think it was solved well. Everyone will reach his or her destination with as little delay as possible,” said Iserief.
Source : The Daily Herald St. Maarten
