荷兰旅客平静应对MH17航班坠机事故
The Malaysian Airways help desk at Schiphol airport's terminal three remained emphatically closed on Friday morning, barricaded shut with additional movable walls. Only a bunch of white flowers behind the container hinted at the tragedy that has befallen Holland.
At 12:15pm on Thursday, Malaysian Airways flight MH17 departed from this same gate carrying 298 people – according to the latest information, 189 of them were Dutch. None of them are thought of have survived the incident over Ukraine.
The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, released a statement on Tuesday night, saying: "I am deeply shocked by the tragic news about the crash of flight MH17 of Malaysian Airlines from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over Ukrainian territory. A lot is still unclear about the facts, circumstances and passengers."
The Dutch king, Willem-Alexander, also expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims, saying he was "deeply shocked" by the news. "We offer our deepest sympathy to the families, friends and colleagues of the victims and to those who are still uncertain if their loved ones were on board the plane." The traditional royal photo call to mark the start of the summer holidays on Friday was cancelled.
Friday's front page of de Volkskrant newspaper showed a picture of the wreckage at the crash site, underneath the headline: "One of the worst air disasters in Dutch history."
Yet on Friday morning at 8am, passengers were queuing up to check into another Malaysian Airways flight bound for Kuala Lumpur. One couple in their 20s, who didn't want to give their names, said they felt "sad" about what had happened, and admitted they were a little bit scared about boarding their flight. But they were determined not to give up on their holiday, a trip around Indonesia and Sumatra.
Erik Elsenaar, an IT consultant waiting at Schiphol for his midday flight to Kuala Lumpur, told the Guardian he was feeling very calm: "This is something that never, never happens, and it's unlikely to happen again. It is a tragedy, but it doesn't look like the attack was either directed at Holland or Malaysia Airways. You can see here that they've already doubled the security at check-in. They will probably triple the checks for bombs. It's definitely safer to travel now than it was to travel the day before yesterday."
Elsenaar said Malaysian Airways staff hadn't mentioned the accident to him during check-in. "I expect this will add an hour extra to my flight, but that's it."
All across Amsterdam, the Dutch flag was hanging at half mast. Floor Reukers and Alex van den Akker, two students having a cigarette break by one of the canals, said they were shocked because everyone seemed to know someone who had recently been on the same flight route or was planning to fly that way soon. "My brother is flying to Kuala Lumpur in a few days," said Reukers, "and a friend of mine flew the same way last week."
Asked how they felt the Dutch government should react to the tragedy, Van den Akker said: "What happened was awful, and we are all thinking of the victims. But we are not going to call for the government to go and catch the perpetrators or go to war. We are not America."据英国《卫报》7月18日报道，星期五早上，史基浦机场3号航站楼的马来西亚航空公司服务台仍然紧闭，并增加了临时隔板作为路障。只有柜台后的一束白色鲜花暗示着悲剧降临荷兰。
星期四下午12时15分，载有298人的马航客机MH17从登机门出发，根据最新消息，其中有189名乘客为荷兰人。这场发生在乌克兰上空的灾难，无一人有幸生还。
荷兰首相马克·吕特在星期二晚间发表了一份声明，称：“从阿姆斯特丹飞往吉隆坡的马航客机MH17在途径乌克兰领域时坠毁，对于这个噩耗，我深感震惊。事件的真相、坠机地点和乘客情况仍有很多需要进一步了解的地方。
荷兰国王威廉-亚历山大也表示了他对遇难者亲属的哀悼，他表示自己对坠机消息深感震惊，并说：“我们对遇难者的亲属、朋友和同事，以及那些仍不确定他们的亲人是否登机的人们表示最真切的慰问。”原计划于本周五进行的标志暑期开始的传统仪式——皇家成员拍照仪式也已经被取消。
星期五，荷兰人民报头版的头条标题为“荷兰史上最严重的空难”，标题下方刊登了一张事故现场的照片，残骸遍野。
然而，周五早上八点，乘客们正在排队办理另一班前往吉隆坡的马航航班登机手续。一对不愿透露姓名的20多岁年轻夫妇称，他们对已经发生的事故感到“伤心”，并且承认对他们即将登上的航班有点恐惧，但他们决心不放弃前往印度尼西亚和苏门答腊的度假旅行。
IT顾问埃里克在史基浦机场等待中午飞往吉隆坡的航班，他告诉《卫报》记者，他感到很平静，并说：“这是以前从未发生过的事，将来也不太可能再发生。这是一场悲剧，但它看起来并不像是针对荷兰或者马来西亚航空公司的袭击。你可以看到机场已经加强了登机安检，他们还可能做三次检查来防备炸弹。现在出行绝对比前天出行要更加安全。
埃里克说，马来西亚航空公司的工作人员在办理登机手续时并未向他提及这场事故，“我预计这次航班会延误一个小时，但仅此而已。”
整个阿姆斯特丹的荷兰国旗都降半旗致哀。Floor Reukers和亚历克斯·范·丹·阿卡，两个正在一条运河边上抽烟休息的学生说，他们非常震惊，因为每个人似乎都认识某个人近期曾搭乘或计划即将搭乘同一航班。Reukers说：“我哥哥过几天要飞往吉隆坡，我的一个朋友上周也飞了这条航线。”
当被问及他们觉得荷兰政府应该如何应对这场悲剧时，范·丹·阿卡说：“坠机事故是可怕的，我们都应该多为遇难者考虑。但是我们不会要求政府去逮捕凶手或是走向战争。这里不是美国。”
