Dutch Airline KLM Announces Resumption of Flights to "Israel" in an Exceptional Operating Format

SadaNews - The Dutch airline KLM has announced the resumption of its flights to "Israel" starting from January 28, after suspending them last week. However, the flights will operate under an unusual format that includes a temporary stop in Cyprus, due to the prevailing security situation in the region, according to a translation by SadaNews from the Israeli newspaper Globes.

The company clarified that the decision to resume flights comes despite the security challenges and concerns that continue to be expressed by foreign flight crews. It noted that the flight schedule will undergo temporary updates according to geopolitical developments and ongoing assessments of the situation. According to the announcement, flights from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv will be operated in the morning hours, with the plane departing at 08:15 and arriving at Ben Gurion Airport at 13:45, according to SadaNews translation.

As for return flights from Tel Aviv to Amsterdam, they will be operated in the afternoon, but will include a technical stop in the Cypriot city of Paphos, without disembarking passengers from the plane, for operational reasons. The flight from Tel Aviv is scheduled to depart at 15:20, arriving in Amsterdam at 20:55.

According to SadaNews translation, this operational model aims to enable airlines to continue operating flights to Israel without requiring flight crews to overnight in the country. The intermediate stop allows the crew to complete the flight and return to their bases on the same day, which is considered an important factor given the security reservations among some foreign crews.

It is worth mentioning that decisions to suspend or resume flights are often made at the level of major airline groups, leading to coordination among affiliated companies, as stated in the report. However, this case has seen a relative difference, as Air France, part of the Air France-KLM group, resumed its flights to Israel earlier, while KLM's resumption came later due to the longer flight duration, which necessitated adopting an alternative operational solution.