Passenger tries to open plane door at 30,000ft thinking ‘it was a toilet'

A passenger tried to open a jet door at 30,000 feet mistaking it for the toilet before being fined and getting banned from the airline for five years.

James Gray, who was flying from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on a KLM flight, insists that the incident was a "misunderstanding", reports Mirror.  

"The crew told me to stay in my seat and I was to be arrested when the plane landed," James said.

"I tried to explain it was a simple mistake. It was a misunderstanding. The police came and arrested me. They weren't too friendly."

He claimed that he only touched the handle thinking it was the toilet door, although he was accused by airline staff of trying to open the door of the plane.

Following the incident, James was taken away to a nearby detention centre after the plane landed, where he spent the night before KLM authorities fined him £434 (600 euros).

When he went to fly back home, the KLM staff refused to let him on board, telling him that he can't fly with them for five years when.

KLM said they handed over a passenger to the authorities due to "his misbehaviour" on-board. Photo taken from Wikipedia.

He managed to return home after borrowing from a friend to pay for his travelling expenses with a rival airline after the fine wiped out his holiday funds.

"I was charged and fined 600 euros. I only had 750 euros with me so I had to borrow money for the rest of the stay over there," he said

James said he wouldn't dream of opening a plane door on purpose, adding that he realises the danger of that sort of thing.

KLM said they handed over a passenger to the authorities due to "his misbehaviour" on-board.