Barry and Izzy Sim, from Scotland, were planning to travel to Kuala Lumpur with their young baby, when they were denied access to the flight by staff at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.
Izzy Sim told the Daily Telegraph that there ‘must have been someone watching over’ them as they were switched to another flight, hours before the MH17 was allegedly shot down by a missile in Eastern Ukraine.
The couple, who say they are ‘loyal customers’ of Malaysia Airlines, said that they were ‘so glad’ they didn’t board the plane, and that they ‘felt philosophical’ about what happened.
Asked about his reaction to the crash, Barry Sim said “You get this sick feeling in the pit of your stomach… We started getting butterflies. Your heartbeat starts going.”
Flight MH17, which was flying to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam, lost contact over Eastern Ukraine. It is believed that it may have been shot down by a missile, although both local militia and the Kiev government have denied responsibility.
All 298 passengers on the plane are believed to have died, including 173 Dutch citizens and up to 10 Britons.
Following the crash on Thursday, airlines were advised to cease flights over the region, prompting many planes in the air to reroute away from Ukraine.
The International Civil Aviation Organization suggested pilots consider ‘alternative routes’ in light of safety risks.
Further warnings were given by Eurocontrol, who strongly advised airliners to avoid the Ukrainian airspace.
