KLM cancels all routes to and from Russia | Financial

Aircraft and passengers could be stranded as a result. “We can no longer guarantee that flights to and over Russia can return safely,” KLM said on Saturday evening. The airline only learned of a boycott on the delivery of aircraft parts to Russia on Saturday, while two flights were already en route to Moscow and Saint Petersburg. These flights had to divert headlong to Estonia.

On Saturday evening, after outcry on social media, KLM decided to stop commercial cooperation with the Russian Aeroflot, part of the Skyteam partnership, which also includes Air France and the American Delta, also a shareholder of Air France KLM. Delta already decided on Friday to stop selling tickets for Aeroflot flights in its booking system. At KLM, the so-called ‘codeshare’ has now also been removed for new bookings, according to a spokeswoman.

The enormous Russian airspace is important to KLM because of the routes to Asia. Due to the decision, the airline has to make a detour via, for example, the Middle East, which costs hours more in travel time and more fuel. Other aviation hubs such as Paris, Istanbul or the Middle East benefit from KLM’s decision. For Russia, flying over means an enormous flow of money, which is now coming to a standstill. However, the EU decided not to close the airspace with the sanctions, but to boycott the supply of aircraft parts to Russia.

This is not enough for everyone. The Dutch coalition parties also want a flight ban for Russian airlines at Schiphol in connection with the invasion of Ukraine. The Russian cargo pilot Airbridgecargo will continue with flights at Schiphol until further notice, a spokesperson reported on Saturday evening. Freight was picked up four times on Saturday. The United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria have already banned Russian airlines.

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