Tuesday, 1 October 2024, 09:57
Dutch flag carrier airline KLM has announced its flight programme for Spain for the winter season, which will begin at the end of October. Malaga Airport plays a leading role in the scheduling, being one of the six Spanish airports from which it will fly to Amsterdam. Moreover, it will do so with four flights a week, which will increase to six weekly frequencies in certain months.
KLM has specified that it will increase the number of seats available to fly to and from Spanish airports by 14% compared to last winter. However, it is almost doubling its commitment to the Costa del Sol with a 179% increase in the number of seats on offer, according to the airline. In addition, it specifies that it is doubling the frequencies. “Last winter we offered two flights a week in each direction. This low season we are increasing the frequencies, which range between four and six a week in each direction, depending on the month,” KLM explained.
The airline has announced that this winter it will offer the opportunity to fly non-stop to Amsterdam from Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Malaga and Valencia. It also highlighted the increase in flight frequencies from Bilbao, where KLM will operate three times a day, as well as from the Costa del Sol and Alicante.
KLM’s proposal will be complemented by that of Air France, as well as that of its joint venture partner, Delta Air Lines, which will schedule direct flights from Madrid and Barcelona to New York, JFK and Atlanta. In the case of Malaga Airport, Air France will offer 24% more seats for sale, although they will maintain the number of flights at around 18 a week in each direction, scheduling up to 21 a week, i.e. three a day in each direction. “The increase is due to the use of larger aircraft with more Airbus A320s,” the company say.
More Dutch tourists
KLM’s commitment coincides with the upturn in the arrival of Dutch tourists to the province, making it the fourth most important international market in terms of passenger arrivals at Malaga airport in the first seven months of the year. Data from the Tourism Situation Bulletin that Turismo Costa del Sol compiles every month show that from January to July a total of almost 210,000 visitors from the Netherlands have arrived at this infrastructure. This figure represents an increase of almost thirteen points.
The Dutch company explained that the winter programme for its entire network for the next winter season, which starts on 27 October and ends on 30 March 2025, will include 155 destinations, of which 89 are in Europe and 66 are intercontinental.