Dutch authorities said today there was no threat of terrorism when a US airliner bound for India was forced to turn back to Amsterdam over security concerns.
Police arrested 12 of the 149 passengers on Northwest Airlines flight 42 to Mumbai yesterday after the crew reported suspicious passenger behaviour.
Passengers on the plane said air marshals intervened after the men began fidgeting with mobile phones and plastic bags.
Indian junior foreign minister Anand Sharma told reporters all 12 were born in Mumbai. "It does not appear to be terror related," Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner told journalists in The Hague.
The Dutch counter-terrorism office confirmed there was no indication of a terrorist threat on the plane.
Two Dutch F-16 jets accompanied the 273-seat DC10-30 plane, which had reached German airspace before it turned back.
Security has been increased at airports worldwide in the past two weeks after British police said they had foiled a plot to blow up planes over the Atlantic using liquid explosives.
Mumbai has also been on high alert after commuter train bombings on July 11th that killed 186 people.
An Indian Foreign Ministry official said all 12 were men of Indian origin, although some apparently held other passports.
The delayed flight departed for Mumbai this morning after the rest of the passengers spent the night in hotels.