What on earth is going on? The Dutch flag carrier KLM has made a U-turn on its decision to restart flights to Tel Aviv, Israel, less than 24 hours after announcing it had come up with a plan to safely resume the service.
In a statement, the Amsterdam-based carrier explained that “based on the current security situation and operational feasibility, we have decided not to resume our flights to Tel Aviv for the time being.”
The statement added: “At all times, KLM prioritizes the safety of passengers and crew in the execution of its operations. Selecting safe and optimal routes is a standard part of our daily practice.”
As a recap, this is how we got to this point:
- January 23: On Friday, KLM made the unexpected decision to cancel all flights to the Middle East. The airline operated flights to Dammam and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Dubai in the UAE, and Tel Aviv in Israel
- KLM cited the “geopolitical situation” in the region as the reason for cancelling these services with immediate effect.
- January 25: The airline was struggling to rebook passengers on alternative flights, with some customers complaining that KLM was refusing to book available flights with other carriers.
- January 26: KLM announced that it was going to resume flights to Dammam and Riyadh from Tuesday.
- January 27: Reports emerged that KLM intended to restart flights to Tel Aviv but with a technical stopover in Cyprus on the return leg, where a crew change would take place.
- The reason for the crew change was so that employees did not have spend an overnight layover in Israel.
The exact reason for KLM’s sudden change of mind isn’t yet clear, although it could be down to pilot and cabin crew unions objecting to flying to Israel if the airline has decided the situation really is as volatile as it is seemingly making out.
The other possibility is that KLM has simply decided that it isn’t worth the additional expense and time to add a stopover in Cyprus to make this route viable based on its current risk assessment.
There is, however, at least some good news for travelers who have booked to fly with KLM to Dubai. The airline now says it intends to resume this route as a non-stop service on Friday, January 30.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely,” a spokesperson noted. “As soon as it is safe and responsible to do so, we aim to offer our customers reliable connections again as quickly as possible.”
KLM’s current approach to Middle East flights is slightly at odds with the rest of the European airline industry, which had otherwise been acting almost in unison in its approach to flying to Tel Aviv during the active phase of the Gaza and Iran conflict.
The Lufthansa Group has, however, axed all night flights to Tel Aviv so as to avoid crew laying over in Israel.
Do you think KLM is being overly cautious, or is this the only responsible decision right now?
