Dutch airline KLM will cancel its long-haul flights after the government has proposed new travel restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, announced a ban on flights from the United Kingdom, South Africa and many countries in South America for a month, starting on Saturday. The Dutch government is expected to discuss restrictions – along with a nationwide curfew – on Thursday.
In response to the flight ban, KLM decided to suspend all of its long-haul flights and several flights from Europe as of Friday, Reuters reported.
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According to the news agency, the airline has 270 weekly long-haul flights that will now be canceled.
“Based on the information we have, this will also count for the crew members,” KLM spokesman Gerrie Brand told Reuters. “We cannot take the risk that crew members will be trapped abroad, so we decided to suspend all long-haul flights.”
KLM did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment.
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Following news from Reuters that KLM would cancel its long-haul flights, the airline announced on Thursday that it will have to lay off between 800 and 1,000 workers. The airline has already laid off 5,000 more employees over the summer because of the pandemic and related travel restrictions.
KLM is canceling 270 weekly long-haul flights due to travel restrictions proposed by the Dutch government. (iStock)
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KLM CEO Pieter Elbers said in a statement on Thursday that the layoffs do not fully reflect how the Dutch government’s latest travel restrictions will affect the company.
“The new downsizing of our organization does not yet include the latest measures announced by the Dutch government in the past 48 hours,” said Elbers. “These new measures are, however, in line with the restrictions and dynamics that we have faced since the beginning of the pandemic.”
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“Even if our crew are exempt from the new regulations, job losses will be woefully unavoidable,” added Elbers. “The impact of the most recent measures will be evident in due course.”
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In addition to the ban on some flights, the Dutch government advised residents to avoid travel until March 31, according to a press release.
For people who decide to travel, they must be able to show a negative rapid test prior to their departure for the Netherlands, in addition to a previously required negative PCR test done 72 hours before arriving, the statement said.