KLM scraps 160 flights during key holiday amid soaring fuel prices, Middle East tension

Dutch airline KLM will cancel dozens of flights on many of its busiest routes due to escalating fuel costs connected to tensions in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. While KLM insisted the flight cancellations are not due to a kerosene shortage, airline industry association BARIN previously warned that fuel scarcity could become a reality if the conflict between Iran, the United States, and Israel continue and the shipping corridor remains shut.

In total, KLM will cancel 160 flights, divided evenly between departures and arrivals at Schiphol Airport. These cancellations are round trip pairings, which represent about one percent of KLM’s European schedule.

Complicating matters is the upcoming school holiday, which begins when classes let out on April 24, with students due back in their seats on the morning of May 4. The national holiday of Koningsdag, or King’s Day, also takes place on April 27, with Remembrance Day on May 4 and Liberation Day on May 5.

“Passengers affected by these changes will be rebooked onto the next available flight. As these are destinations KLM serves multiple times a day, such as London and Düsseldorf, travellers can usually be accommodated quickly,” the airline stated.

“KLM expects a busy May holiday period and is making sure passengers can travel to their holiday destinations as planned.”

In response to U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, that country cut off access to the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route connecting the oil producing states along the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world. Iran formally closed the strait on March 27 to shipping traffic traveling to or from the United States, Israel, and allies of the two countries.

Around that time, Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith said the consortium’s airlines were making plans to contend with a kerosene shortage. The group also owns passenger airline Transavia and cargo firm Martinair, and has a large stake in Scandinavian firm SAS. It is also trying to acquire a stake in Portuguese airline TAP.

Dutch Infrastructure Minister Vincent Karremans also told Parliament that the Netherlands and Europe have at least “five months’ worth of kerosene reserves.” He said this during a debate on April 7, but a few days later, European airport association ACI Europe warned that a shortage of aviation fuel could emerge by the end of April.

Marnix Fruitema, the chair of airline trade group BARIN, predicted in early April that airlines would be forced to begin cancelling flights by mid-May to save fuel. He told ANP he expected this to affect intercontinental flights even more than European flights, particularly on routes to and from Southeast Asia, which relies on kerosene from the Middle East.

“Certainly to those destinations, there will then be fewer flights from Europe. Furthermore, airlines will be more likely to cancel flights of eleven to thirteen hours and continue flying more within Europe,” Fruitema said on April 3. Since then, ships from countries like China, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand have gained access to the Strait of Hormuz.