
Pax Global Media
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has announced plans to expand its route network in July, resuming flights in two Canadian destinations.
The airline will be resuming service between Amsterdam and Calgary (two weekly) and Vancouver (three weekly) as of July, the carrier announced on Wednesday (June 3rd).
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, KLM continued to serve Toronto.
Compared to June, the number of flights will increase by more than 60 percent with KLM operating 25 to 30 percent of the normal number of flights.
The range of destinations will also be expanded, particularly in Southern Europe.
These destinations include Alicante, Bilbao, Bologna, Ibiza, Istanbul, Nice, Porto, Catania and Split. In total, the planned European KLM network comprises 73 destinations in the month of July, up from 30 destinations in May and an expected 45 destinations in June.
In June, KLM expanded its intercontinental network to include Aruba, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Paramaribo and Quito. In July, KLM plans to add six additional destinations (Jakarta, Denpasar, Washington, San Francisco, Vancouver, Calgary) and frequency expansions to destinations KLM already offered in June.
In total, there are 51 destinations and approximately half of these destinations are currently only flown for cargo.
As soon as authorities relax travel restrictions, KLM will also open these destinations for ticket sales where possible.
With the network expansions in July, KLM will once again serve 78 percent of the initially planned number of destinations with more than 3,000 departing flights at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
"Our customers want to travel again. We are therefore expanding the network slowly and carefully. With all the hygiene measures taken on board and on the ground, we are doing this as safely as possible," said Pieter Elbers, President and CEO of KLM.
For an overview of the hygiene measures taken by KLM, click here.
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