Small turtle: According to the Dutch authorities, there was too little space for the animals on board.

Incident with 11 000 animalsKLM ordered to pay half a million Euros because it mistreated turtles

Thousands of turtles were sent to an emergency shelter because KLM had crammed them together for transportation. Now the airline has to pay for the rescue.

Top-Jobs

skyside logo 2

Captain for Falcon 2000 EX EASy or LX (S)

Skyside Aviation
Business Aviation
Feste Anstellung
Österreich
Vollzeit
Top jobs
Logo Magnum FBO

Supervisor / Station Manager (m/w/d)

M.A.G.N.U.M Aviation GmbH
Österreich
Salzburg
Feste Anstellung
Business Aviation
Top jobs
Vollzeit
Thüringen

Sachbearbeiter/in „Luftverkehr“ (m/w/d)

Top jobs
Erfurt
Deutschland
Ministerium
Ministerium für Digitales und Infrastruktur (TMDI)
Feste Anstellung
Vollzeit
Firmenlogo Weeze Airport

Manager EASA Compliance (m/w/x)

Vollzeit
Flughafen Niederrhein GmbH
Feste Anstellung
Top jobs
Weeze
Deutschland

This summer 11 000 turtles should have traveled halfway around the world. KLM was supposed to fly the reptiles from South America via Africa to Asia. During the stopover at its home hub in Amsterdam, the plane was subject to inspections by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority - fortunately for the animals, as the inspectors immediately raised concerns.

According to the authority, the turtles were stuffed into containers that were too cramped. Some of the animals had already died and the condition of the remaining turtles was critical. The government acted quickly and took the animals to an emergency shelter. Now a Dutch court ruled that the national airline has to cover the costs.

KLM animal shelter equipped inadequately

As the court writes in a statement, KLM now has to pay 470,000 euros to the authorities, which had paid for the rescue operation beforehand. The airline and the authorities both had agreed to release the turtles from the plane. But so far there has been disagreement on where to accommodate the animals.

KLM wanted to put the turtles in their own animal station. For the Dutch authorities, however, it was unclear whether it was suitable as an emergency shelter. In addition, the required water basins, which were already available in another station, would have had to be re-installed. Now the court of last instance has ruled that the government had reacted appropriately and the state airline has to pay the costs.

Mehr zum Thema

ATR 42 von Olympic Air gerät von der Piste

ATR 42 von Olympic Air gerät von der Piste

Tanker crashes into an Aeroflot Airbus A321

Tanker crashes into an Aeroflot Airbus A321

Cockpit einer 737 Max: Bald mehr Redundanzen.

Two computers to feed 737 Max data

Lufthansa A319 sustains damage

Lufthansa A319 sustains damage

Video

Boeing 737-800 von Ryanair: Bald wieder in Friedrichshafen zu sehen.
Nach mehr als einem Jahrzehnt Pause nimmt die Billigairline im Sommer zwei Strecken ab Friedrichshafen auf. Auf der einen ist Ryanair konkurrenzlos, auf der anderen muss sie sich mit einer deutschen Fluglinie messen.
Stefan Eiselin
Stefan Eiselin
hacker siberislam kelowna
An Flughäfen in den USA und Kanada ist es Hackern gelungen, Lautsprecherdurchsagen und teilweise auch Anzeigetafeln zu manipulieren. Dabei priesen sie unter anderem die Terrororganisation Hamas.
Timo Nowack
Timo Nowack
Business-Doppelsuite im Airbus A350 von Swiss: Neues Flugzeug, neues Interieur.
Kürzlich überführte die Schweizer Nationalairline ihren ersten Airbus A350 nach Zürich – nun gewährt sie erstmals einen Blick ins Innere des neuen Langstreckenjets. Mit ihm will Swiss neue Maßstäbe bei Komfort und Design setzen.
Stefan Eiselin
Stefan Eiselin