Demand for air travel is rising as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted in the Netherlands and other EU countries – while airlines and airports are rejoicing, doctors are alarmed. Due to the irresponsible behavior of many people, the corona situation in numerous hospitals is catastrophic again. Travel has repeatedly proven to be a massive pandemic driver in the past.
KLM has expanded capacity on European routes by 10% year-on-year, close to pre-pandemic 2019 levels. In total there are around 16 million seats. The Portuguese cities of Porto and Lisbon with three
or four flights per day are just some of the destinations that are seeing an increase in KLM flights.
The success of the new destinations Belgrade, Dubrovnik and Palma de Mallorca, which were added to the KLM route network last year, means that they will once again be included in the summer schedule. KLM also anticipates the return of business travellers, which is why it is adding frequencies on UK, German and Polish routes.
Connections to Kyiv, St. Petersburg and Moscow are still suspended. KLM is closely monitoring developments in the region, it said.
KLM has also increased capacity on its intercontinental route network by 17% year-on-year in response to a rising booking trend. This summer we will be offering daily flights to Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao and increasing the frequency to Curaçao to twice daily during the summer holiday season. Port of Spain, KLM’s new tropical destination in the winter schedule, is also included in the summer schedule, offering customers three weekly flights between Amsterdam and the capital of Trinidad and Tobago.
Demand for flights has grown steadily since the US eased travel restrictions in November 2021. KLM capacity to the US this summer is on par with 2019. The resumption of services to Salt Lake City and the addition of Austin to our route network means we will be offering direct flights to 12 US destinations this summer, the highest number ever. Austin, the state capital of Texas, is a thriving technology center and home to a
large number of technology companies. It’s also a thriving student town with a vibrant nightlife, Formula 1 racing and the big South by Southwest Annual Festival (SXSW). KLM operates three flights a week to Austin.
We are also seeing more and more countries in Asia reopening to visitors. Although travel restrictions due to Covid-19 vary from country to country, summer demand is increasing for destinations such as the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Bali. India has also announced that it will relax travel restrictions. KLM will respond and increase frequencies to Delhi and Mumbai. Asia remains a strong and important freight market, allowing us to continue to offer lower frequencies to all pre-pandemic destinations. Travel restrictions are still in place in China, which means we are not yet able to resume our usual network services to China. Due to EU sanctions against Russia, KLM does not operate in Russian airspace. Flight times to and from South Korea, Japan and China are therefore on average two hours longer than usual. Flights to Japan and China currently make a stopover in Seoul.
Capacity on most routes to South America has been more or less restored to pre-pandemic levels. We currently have daily flights to Sao Paulo, Panama City and Lima, with a minimum of six weekly flights to Quito/Guayaquil, Bogota/Cartagena, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires/Santiago de Chile. Passengers who want to fly to Africa this summer can now choose between ten destinations. Capacity has been increased on many routes compared to last summer to meet growing demand. Zanzibar, which was added to our route network last year, is again included in the summer timetable. KLM also operates flights to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Accra, Lagos, Kigali, Entebbe, Nairobi, Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam.
(red / KLM)
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