KLM passenger numbers skyrocket: nearly 2 million more in first half 2017

KLM Group transported nearly 2 million more passengers in the first half of 2017 than in the same period last year. The number of passengers increased by 11 percent to nearly 20 million, NU.nl reports.

The airline group includes KLM Cityhopper, Transavia and Martinair. The airline's capacity grew by 6 percent and the occupancy rate came out at 89.3 percent in June.

According to KLM, the airline is "well on its way" to its goal of over 40 million KLM and Transavia passengers. "The hard work of all KLM- and Transavia colleagues is bearing fruit", KLM CEO Pieter Elbers said, according to the newspaper. "These are figures to be proud of."

KLM's freight department showed a slight recovery, though still performed relatively poorly. Freight decreased by 1.3 percent and capacity was 0.4 percent lower. The utilization rate decreased by 0.6 percent.

Between January and June Air France-KLM transported a total of 40 million passengers - an increase of 4.4 percent. The occupancy increased by 1.4 percent to 86 percent.