Sylvie Claire / January 24, 2022
A stowaway flew 9,000 km from Johannesburg to Amsterdam, hiding in the front landing gear of a cargo plane, the military police announced Sunday, saying the man was hospitalized in stable condition.
The unidentified man is believed to have slipped aboard the plane before its departure from Johannesburg, said Joanne Helmonds, spokeswoman for the Royal Netherlands Military Police. The man was found alive in the front of the plane and was taken to hospital in a stable condition she told AFP, adding that it is quite remarkable that the man is still alive. The individual was cold and hypothermic when the firemen took him out of the plane.
Flights between Johannesburg and Amsterdam take an average of 11 hours.
Stowaways on flights to the Netherlands are rare, according to Joanne Helmonds, who notes that previous attempts have involved people from Nigeria and Kenya.
Last year, border police discovered the body of a Nigerian man in the landing gear of a plane arriving at Amsterdam-Schiphol airport.