After a weekend of confusion and conflicting media reports, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has decided to resume flights to two destinations in the Middle East while keeping two others on hold as it continues to assess the security situation in the region.
The Dutch flag carrier caught passengers by surprise on Friday afternoon when it suddenly announced it was cancelling all flights to the Middle East with immediate effect and until further notice due to the “geopolitical situation.”
While KLM didn’t provide any further details behind its decision, the carrier made the decision independently of other global airlines. The cancellations come amidst reports that President Trump is still considering a military strike on Iran that could inflame tensions across the Persian Gulf.
KLM cancelled all flights to Dammam and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and Tel Aviv in Israel, and over the weekend, the airline admitted that it was struggling to rebook impacted passengers on alternative flights.
The cancellations even caught KLM’s business partner Air France offguard, which initially cancelled two flights on Friday night to Dubai before quickly resuming flights.
Air France then had to go on the offensive, fighting back reports that it was also nixing flights to the Middle East due to security concerns.
By Monday afternoon, KLM had also decided it could, at least, partially resume flights across its Middle East network, with services to Dammam and Riyadh to be restored on Tuesday.
In a statement, a spokesperson for KLM said the Amsterdam-based carrier was still “exploring options” to restart flights to Dubai and Tel Aviv and that the airline was “closely monitoring the situation.”
“All passengers who were affected by canceled flights in recent days due to the situation in the Middle East have now been rebooked,” the statement continued.
“Travelers who prefer not to travel anymore may request a refund for their original flight.”
In response to the USS Lincoln carrier strike group traveling to the Gulf of Oman and reports that President Trump is still weighing the possibility of carrying out military strikes on Iran, airlines are prepared to make schedule changes at short notice.
Most global carriers have maintained their schedules as planned, but the Lufthansa Group has decided to suspend overnight flights to Tel Aviv until further notice.
The reason for this is that overnight flights necessitate pilots and cabin crew having a 24-hour+ ‘layover’ in Iraq, which the airline group wants to avoid should the security situation rapidly deteriorate and aircrew are left stranded in the country.
European carriers have been avoiding Iranian airspace for some time over security worries. Earlier this month, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a so-called ‘conflict zone advisory,’ warning airlines to avoid flying over Iran.
The advisory noted that with tensions already high and Iranian security forces on edge, there could be the possibility of misidentification of a commercial passenger jet being shot down by a surface-to-air missile.
