Indian passengers say Dutch officials treated them well

Relieved at their release after being detained in Amsterdam for alleged suspicious behaviour in a US airliner, 12 Indian passengers who arrived here today said they were treated well by the Dutch authorities, and thanked the government for its "active intervention" in the matter.

Immediately after the Northwest Airlines' flight NW042 arrived from Amsterdam at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Terminal here carrying the passengers, one of them said a "misunderstanding" on part of the airline led to a two-day ordeal for them but that they were treated well by the Dutch authorities.

"It was a misunderstanding on the part of the airline. We were treated well and want to forget it as a bad experience," Mohammad Iqbal Batliwala told reporters at the city airport. He refused to comment further saying he was tired.

Another passenger, Shakeel Chotani, said: "The misunderstanding has been sorted out."

Speaking on behalf of the 12 passengers, one of the relatives, Mansoor Umer Daruvesh, thanked the government of India for its intervention."It is due to their (government) active intervention that all our relatives have returned safely from Amsterdam in such a short while," he said.

Recalling the incident, a passenger said that "we were wearing seat belts and were tired after a long journey - that is the 22-hour transit time. We were lying down and were not exchanging mobiles. We exchanged seats only to sleep."