In the original script,Kees Brusse's character Dick did not fly from Curaçao to the Netherlands on his own, but was accompanied by Monique van de Ven as Claudia and another character played by Rudolf Lucieer. During production, Van de Ven fell in love with cinematographer Jan de Bont which let to friction on set. Eventually Van de Ven became stressed out and had to leave the production. De Bont was replaced by Theo van de Sande and the script was hastily rewritten. Now Dick made the flight on his own, Rudolf's Lucieers role was written out completely and Van de Ven was sued for breach of contract for 500.000 guilders by producers Pim de la Parra & Wim Verstappen.
Director Wim Verstappen considered the sequence in which the lead character makes a solo flight from the West Indies to Europe without stopping to refuel as his greatest contribution to film.