“We are closely monitoring developments,” KLM said in a short statement.
KLM’s safety assessment differs from that of Emirates, for example. Earlier today, the airline announced that it would resume daily flights from its home base in Dubai to dozens of destinations, including Schiphol, from Saturday. Last night Emirates already flew from Dubai to Schiphol, among others, because the airspace was open to a limited extent.
KLM decided to immediately suspend flights to the Middle East after the attacks on Iran last weekend. Since then, this decision has been extended several times. According to KLM CEO Marjan Rintel, the situation in the Middle East will have no consequences for further KLM flights to Asia, Africa and the United States.
Dutch in the Middle East
KLM, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, arranged a flight to the Omani capital Muscat. This is to pick up stranded travelers.
The aircraft took off around midnight and flew to Amsterdam with a detour, to land there Wednesday morning.
There were more than ninety stranded travelers on board, including Bas and Ildieke. They were welcomed at Schiphol by their friend Judith. It provided an emotional reunion and a lot of relief.
Stuck in Qatar
But not everyone managed to catch this repatriation flight. Wendy and Frank from Haarlem are already there stuck in Doha for a weekthe capital of Qatar.
Several such repatriation flights are being planned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
