KLM suspending long-haul flights due to Covid policies, report says

Dutch airline KLM will suspend all of its 270 weekly long-haul flights from the Netherlands starting Friday, according to a report from Reuters.

The news comes after the Dutch government introduced new Covid-19 policies that complicate international travel.

“Among a series of new regulations announced on Wednesday was a requirement for passengers and crew to show evidence of a second negative rapid coronavirus test taken just before departure,” the Reuters report reads.

The Brussels Times also reported that KLM will suspend “all its intercontinental flights and some European routes.”

“We cannot run the risk of our staff being stranded somewhere. This is why we are stopping all intercontinental flights from Friday and all flights to European destinations where crew members have to spend the night,” the company told The Brussels Times.

KLM has not yet publicly announced the route suspensions, and its website is still selling tickets for flights from Costa Rica next week.

The Dutch airline flies to both of Costa Rica’s international airports from Amsterdam. Some 35,000 people visited Costa Rica from the Netherlands in 2019.

The airline on Thursday also said it will cut another 800 to 1,000 jobs, reaching about 6,000 layoffs since the pandemic began.