KLM must stay independent of Dutch government: Infrastructure Sec.

The Netherlands government is reiterating its position that Dutch airline KLM must remain sufficiently autonomous from the government to avoid a conflict of interest arising from the development of Schiphol Airport. Renewed calls for the government to take more of an activist role in the airline were sparked once more when annual figures of Air France-KLM presented Thursday morning showed the firm registering a 198 million euro loss despite strong financial figures showing KLM earning a profit of about 175 million euros. The figures also suggest that KLM was largely to thank for Schiphol's economic success in 2014, with the airport also handling a significant increase in passengers last year, the airport reported. The Cabinet is paying close attention to developments are Air France-KLM because of KLM's significant impact on the Dutch economy, said State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment Wilma Mansveld told broadcaster NOS with regard to the data.