KLM resumes operations from Norwich Airport
Image courtesy KLM
Benedicte Duval, General Manager for Air France KLM in the UK & Ireland said: “After what has been, and continues to be, a very challenging period for our industry, we are pleased to be in a position to resume a daily service from East Anglia today. We have a longstanding partnership with Norwich Airport, having provided worldwide connectivity to the region for over 30 years, and we look forward to welcoming our local passengers back on board once they are ready to travel again.
“At KLM, the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew have always been our number one priory. As we all adapt to this new environment, I can assure you that our staff, both on the ground and in the air, are truly committed to guaranteeing the highest levels of health & safety.
“In terms of our network recovery, we have opted to expand the number of destinations first, so that customers have the widest possible choice. While we will today return to our pre-COVID network of 16 departure points in the UK, we are aware that supply and demand are now subject to greater, more rapid change than before. The next step is to monitor demand and increase frequencies or increase capacity by deploying larger aircraft where possible.”
Richard Pace, Managing Director at Norwich Airport, said: “The return of daily flights from Norwich to Amsterdam Schiphol is excellent news for Norwich Airport after a difficult period in our industry. Connectivity between Norwich and Amsterdam is critical for our region and for global onward connectivity from East Anglia via Schiphol.
“We welcome a return to flying with KLM as we celebrate the first signs of recovery and growing confidence amongst commercial passengers and airlines alike. We’ve been busy implementing all the appropriate additional safety measures at Norwich Airport; we’re open for business and ready to facilitate safe travel for passengers.”
Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, KLM and Norwich Airport have introduced a range of health & safety measures to protect customers and staff, both on board and at airports.
Face masks are mandatory for both passengers and crew when boarding and during the flight and new aircraft cleaning procedures have been introduced including the disinfection of all surfaces in contact with customers such as armrests, tables and screens. For a full overview of KLM’s safety measures, please view video here.
In addition, the air in the cabin is renewed every 3 minutes. The air recycling system on board KLM aircraft is equipped with "High Efficiency Particulate Air" or HEPA filters, identical to those used in hospital operating theatres. These filters extract more than 99.99% of the smallest viruses, including those no larger than 0.01 micrometres, thus ensuring that cabin air complies with quality standards. Coronavirus type viruses, ranging in size from 0.08 to 0.16 micrometres, are filtered through the HEPA filters. For more information, please view video here.
KLM is currently offering customers the opportunity to book with confidence. Customers wanting to make a new booking but feeling uncertain due to the current Covid-19 situation, have the flexibility to change their reservation and rebook flights in the same booking class at no extra charge.
KLM is gradually rebuilding its global network, opting to restart as many destinations as possible and then increasing frequencies and capacity. For July, KLM expects to operate 80% of the normal number of European destinations and 75% of intercontinental destinations. This will increase to 95% and 80% respectively for August. However, it should be noted that at present, 50% of intercontinental flights are cargo only. When international travel restrictions are relaxed, KLM will start carrying passengers to these destinations again.
