Air passenger fined for assault

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A passenger on an Aberdeen-bound flight has been fined for assaulting a pilot who refused to let him board a flight in the Netherlands.

The 39-year-old man from the city was removed from the flight by police at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on Wednesday night.

He was reported to have become abusive after the KLM Boeing pilot told him he was too drunk to travel.

BBC Scotland has learned that he was fined 1,500 euros and then released.

The captain told other passengers what had happened and was then able to conduct the flight as normal KLM spokesman

Officers said the man had been charged with assault and detained in Amsterdam, before being fined and released.

The captain was said to have been left with slight injuries and a torn uniform.

'Causing disruption'

A KLM spokesman said the Boeing 737 flight, which had another 99 passengers on board and was due to leave at 2105 BST, was delayed for 30 minutes.

The spokesman said: "The captain told other passengers what had happened and was then able to conduct the flight as normal."

He said the airline had a strict boarding policy and added: "We do not tolerate any misbehaviour of passengers because we do everything we can to safeguard security.

"We can put people on blacklists, banning them from flying with the company, if they cause problems. Anyone who has any intention of causing disruption is a problem for KLM."

A spokesman for the Dutch military police said: "He had got through the security check and went to get on the plane when the captain told him he had drunk too much."