KLM recently announced on their website that due to the revised travel advice for a large number of countries to 'orange', such as the United Kingdom, Spain and parts of France, the initially planned further upscaling of KLM's European network will not take place in September. Quarantine rules in the United Kingdom in particular have a major impact on KLM's network. For the period after that, the situation with regard to travel restrictions is being closely monitored from both the Netherlands and other countries.

As a result of COVID-19, KLM will fly this winter timetable much less compared to the same period in 2019. The timetable for the European network in November is currently around 55% of the capacity in 2019. KLM was on its way to its European and the intercontinental network to expand slowly and responsibly, after the number of destinations and frequencies had been reduced to a minimum by the corona crisis. KLM first wants to offer its customers as much choice of destinations as possible. This may be followed by an increase in the number of frequencies and / or capacity by using larger devices.

In August, KLM flew almost 100% of its European network in terms of destinations and 60% in capacity, compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak. As of October 25, 2020, KLM will start operating daily flights to the Polish city of Poznan. Intercontinental KLM flew 80% of the destinations and 60% in capacity. At present, 25 percent of intercontinental flights only carry cargo. This results in a considerably lower seat capacity. As soon as local travel regulations permit, KLM will also start transporting passengers on these flights.

From the beginning of September, KLM will again fly twice a week via Seoul Incheon (South Korea) to the Chinese city of Hangzhou. From 9 September, KLM will fly to Cairo twice a week. Riyadh will also be added as a new destination to the KLM network (originally started on September 26, but is now scheduled for December 7). KLM will also launch a circular flight on 29 October to add Edmonton to the Canadian network again. The flight will depart to Calgary, then visit Edmonton and return to Amsterdam.

lock waiver

It is good news that the European Commission has announced the extension of the so-called 'slot waiver' to the entire winter timetable. It enables KLM to respond more adequately to the rapidly changing market conditions as a result of COVID-19, even during the winter timetable. In addition to the financial impact, operating less well-filled flights would also not be desirable from a sustainability perspective.

Safety remains paramount

Naturally, KLM has taken measures to operate the flights safely for both passengers and employees. For example, mouth masks are mandatory when boarding and during the flight, there are extra hygiene products on board and KLM aircraft are cleaned extra. The air on board is refreshed at a rapid rate with the help of HEPA filters.

KLM naturally adapts to changing circumstances when governments in different countries take new measures.

Also read: Travel advice changes from yellow to orange again