KLM at Copenhagen

David J. Danto

Travel thoughts in my own, personal opinion

eMail: ddanto@IMCCA.org Follow Industry News: @NJDavidD on

The WORST Flying Experience - May 2025

As a million miler on United I’ve traveled a lot – and that’s an understatement. Over the past forty years, I’ve seen the full range of airline behavior: the good, the bad, and the utterly ridiculous. United has, at various times, treated me like royalty, and like carry-on baggage, and I’ve always been fair in calling them out for both. But nothing – and I mean nothing – compares to what my wife and I experienced last week at Copenhagen Airport on a KLM flight to Amsterdam.

Imagine that. Four decades of flying, and what happened in a modern European airport in 2025 somehow topped them all.

Let’s start with the check-in. We arrived with our perfectly legal carry-ons and a few bags to check. Each of us had one free checked bag, and I even paid for a third to avoid any weight issues – a courtesy, really. We got our first two bags tagged without issue, but the third tag didn’t print. So we had to queue again, wasting time while an agent manually processed it. Annoying, but I figured that was the glitch of the trip. I only wish I’d been right.

Security in Copenhagen was something else entirely. We were asked if we were American – a question that already raised eyebrows. We answered honestly, even threw in a "we didn’t vote for the guy" to defuse any tension. It didn’t help. They treated us like a problem to be dealt with.

My rollaboard – the same one that passed through Newark and Brussels without issue – was completely unpacked. Down to the last pair of socks and my sealed medical supplies. Everything was dumped into bins, rifled through, and rescanned. Nothing illegal, nothing over the limit. Just harassment. I had to repack my suitcase and briefcase from scratch, bent over a shelf like a TSA intern on their first day. If we hadn’t been at the airport early, we’d have missed the flight. My wife got the same treatment. Just as invasive, just as pointless.

Frustrated and exhausted, we skipped every store and duty-free booth. We didn’t want to give another cent to a system that seemed intent on punishing us for our passport. We headed straight to the gate.

That’s where the real nightmare began.

When we were called to board, our tickets scanned fine – but then we were stopped. A KLM gate agent barked that we had too much baggage and had to check one piece each – a purely arbitrary and incorrect decision. I calmly explained that everything we had was within regulation and would fit in the bin and underseat. She didn’t care. Zero interest in conversation. Zero flexibility.

Now, my carry-on held essential medical supplies – things I would end up needing on the flight. But rules were rules, apparently, even when they weren’t. The second agent, standing to the right of her, offered no help either. Just the same cold, robotic posture. We complied, reluctantly. This wasn’t our first flight – we knew arguing would get us nowhere.

The family behind us? They made the mistake of trying. This was a father, mother, and two young kids – politely pleading to be let on with their bags because of a tight connection in Amsterdam. The agent couldn’t have been more unmoved if she’d been carved from glacier ice. She stood there like a final boss from a video game, guarding the gateway to boarding. Tall, blonde, arms folded, face locked in a grimace of bureaucratic disdain. She looked like she had trained her whole life for the joy of saying no. And she said it again and again as the family begged. It was cruel. No other word fits. They were denied boarding the plane for daring to question her edict. (I hope they made it home OK.)

There was no empathy, no listening, no interest in the actual situation. Just the ruthless execution of some internal power trip masquerading as policy by a lady that would have made a good concentration camp guard.

We eventually boarded, minus the items we actually needed for the flight. The cabin was cramped, the seats were stiff, the aisle armrests didn’t move up, and service was as indifferent as the ground crew. It felt less like travel and more like punishment.

Look, I’ve been flying since back when paper tickets were a thing and you dressed up for the plane. I’ve had delays, cancellations, rude agents, missed connections, and the joy of sleeping on airport benches. But this – this was on another level.

KLM should be profoundly ashamed of the people representing their brand in Copenhagen. And the Copenhagen Airport security staff? They were a travesty. I honestly believe the entire ordeal was rooted in political resentment. I didn’t vote for the current U.S. administration, but I carry an American passport, and apparently that was all they needed to decide we were worth targeting.

So here’s the takeaway: If you're American, completely avoid flying through Copenhagen Airport. And as for KLM – I’ll never fly with them again. To be treated like a criminal for simply boarding a plane is not a travel inconvenience – it’s a disgrace.

This article was written by David Danto and contains solely his own, personal opinions.

All image and links provided above as reference under prevailing fair use statutes.

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