KLM Group News - April 2010

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will deploy more than its usual maximum capacity to bring stranded passengers home. Effective Thursday, 22 April, KLM will operate its entire intercontinental schedule and almost all of its European services. In addition, KLM will operate extra flights to ensure that passengers and cargo are transported more quickly.

This is possible through cooperation with SkyTeam partners. KLM will also adjust its network in such a way that aircraft types offering maximum capacity are deployed on routes that have the most stranded passengers.

Almost all over Europe, air traffic has been suspended for five days. All airlines are therefore faced with a backlog, while new passengers are reporting for flights that are currently being operated to schedule.

KLM has swiftly restored its network. As promised, this was achieved within 48 hours, says KLM President & CEO Peter Hartman. “We are doing whatever we can. Together with our partners Delta Airlines and Kenya Airways we are working flat-out to get our passengers and cargo to their destinations as quickly as possible. I am proud of the KLM family, because we have pulled together and achieved this in a very short space of time,” said Mr. Hartman.

Delta Airlines will take on three KLM flights for the coming period (New York JFK and Atlanta ATL), freeing up capacity for KLM. Our partner Kenya Airways will deploy a larger aircraft type on the Nairobi-Amsterdam route. Extra capacity will also be deployed on the routes to Curacao, Paramaribo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Shanghai, Osaka, Lima, Sao Paulo, San Francisco and Cairo.