KLM's operational problems have deepened. The Dutch airline cancelled 103 flights in a single week in mid-October, according to figures compiled by De Telegraaf and the aviation site Up in the Sky and reported by Flywest on October 17. The cancellations hit both KLM Cityhopper's regional network and the long-haul operation from Amsterdam Schiphol, and the airline has set up a dedicated crisis team to steady the schedule.
The latest disruption comes only days after KLM announced that it would proactively remove some flights from its timetable between October 26 and early March to keep more long-haul aircraft available as reserves.
Too many aircraft on the ground
KLM has blamed a combination of factors: unplanned maintenance, repairs after damage and technical work that has taken longer than expected. Delays in the delivery of spare parts have made things worse by keeping aircraft out of service for longer. "There are currently more temporarily grounded aircraft than usual," a KLM spokesperson told NU.nl.
To protect as much of the schedule as possible, KLM has been leasing in extra aircraft, Flywest reported, and has been flying some routes with different aircraft types than originally planned. On October 13, Aviation Direct reported, citing comments to the Dutch broadcaster NOS, that the shortage also reflects inspection intervals being exceeded, and that KLM plans to concentrate the winter cancellations on high-frequency routes so affected passengers can be rebooked quickly.
When KLM first confirmed the winter cuts on October 8, it did not say how many flights would be affected. "Every cancellation is one too many," a spokesperson said at the time, according to NL Times, adding: "Every aircraft in the air makes us money, while every aircraft on the ground costs us money." The airline had already been forced to cancel at least five intercontinental flights at short notice the weekend before because of technical issues.
Mathieu Essenberg, who recently became KLM's operational director, said then that adjusting the network was not the airline's preferred option, but that it would tell customers earlier what to expect and create more flexibility on the day of operation.
Cabin crew want answers
The knock-on effects are being felt by crews as much as passengers. Rotations have been reshuffled at short notice and cabin crew have seen days off disrupted, according to the Flywest report. A technical problem with the scheduling system also temporarily stopped staff from seeing their updated rosters or submitting leave requests.
The VNC union, which represents KLM cabin crew, requested an urgent meeting with management. "We are disappointed with the outcome," the union said afterwards, noting that while KLM acknowledged the problems, it had not offered concrete solutions. VNC is now pushing for financial compensation for affected crew members.
A wider European problem
KLM is not alone in struggling with aircraft availability. Spare-parts shortages and crowded maintenance shops have been squeezing airlines across Europe, as Aviation Direct noted in its report on KLM's winter cuts. For KLM, the timing is awkward: the airline is about to start its winter season on October 25 and is in the middle of a fleet renewal that brought its first Airbus A350-900 into the fleet earlier this month.
The cost is also a concern. KLM has spent recent years trying to improve its financial position by cutting costs and growing revenue faster than expenses, and every leased aircraft and short-notice cancellation adds pressure on that effort.
For passengers, the advice is straightforward. Anyone flying with KLM over the coming months should keep their contact details up to date in their booking and check their flight status before travelling, especially on routes with several daily departures where proactive cancellations are most likely. KLM says the reduced winter schedule should make the operation more stable, but with more aircraft than usual still grounded, the coming weeks will show whether the crisis team can stop the run of last-minute cancellations.
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