KLM will add its first flights to Bridgetown in Barbados and Port of Spain in Trinidad & Tobago this winter in a move which will see the Dutch carrier match the number of Caribbean and South American destinations it flew before the crisis.
The addition of Bridgetown and Port of Spain takes to 17 the number of destinations in the region KLM will serve, the same as it operated in the summer of 2019. Routes to the Cuban capital Havana and Fortaleza in Brazil remain temporarily suspended because of the pandemic.
While restrictions remains in place – only essential travel is possible to many countries in the Caribbean and South America – KLM has been aiming to retain as wide a network as possible to position itself for when restrictions are further lifted and capacity can be increased.
”This allowed customers to make (necessary) trips and the transport of freight, such as medical supplies, could continue,” KLM says. “If further relaxations come into view, this strategy will make it easier for KLM to scale up the frequency and occupancy.”
KLM chief executive Pieter Elbers says: ”It is good news that our network in the Caribbean and South America is almost completely at its old strength. We currently fly almost the entire global network, with 60% of the capacity and 40% of the passengers. We do this in a safe and responsible manner.
”The next steps are to expand capacity and of course, as soon as the situation allows, welcome more customers on board.”
