KLM Group News - August 2010

Date 20.08.2010

The European Commission has expressed regret at the recent negative exposure received by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Media reports in recent days have stated that the Commission believed KLM was alleged to have improperly handled passenger compensation claims. For this reason, the Commission is thought to have reprimanded KLM. The matter relates to costs incurred when airspace was closed following the volcanic eruption in Iceland.

 

The Commission on Thursday issued a new statement renouncing earlier statements. The Commission confirmed that it had never served KLM with a formal reprimand.
 
The Commission also made it clear that this complex issue has bearing on the entire industry, and not just KLM. The airlines, united in the Association of European Airlines (AEA) argue that the European provision for passenger rights was never intended to cover extreme circumstances such as these. The compensation regulations were intended for individual flight delays and cancellations, and not for circumstances in which the entire airspace was closed for a lengthy period due to a natural disaster. 
 
KLM wanted to operate at the time, but was not allowed to. In that light, it would be unreasonable to expect the airline to carry all of the costs, argued the KLM management. More so now that the Commission and the European Ministers of Transport have formally agreed that the regulations do not apply to such circumstances and should be amended as soon as possible. It is expected that this will be done later this year. In the meantime, KLM will assess all claims individually.

For more information:
KLM Media Relations, tel: +31(0)20-6494545