KLM

KLM is no longer flying over Iraq and Iran as a precaution after Iran's retaliation attack on American targets in Iraq, a KLM spokesperson said to NU.nl on Wednesday. Depending on their destination, flights will detour to the north or the south. 

News agency AFP reports that Air France stopped flying over the two countries.

Dutch flag carrier airline KLM plans to send ticketed passengers a mobile payment request to offset their share of carbon-dioxide emissions. The airline said it will start the program as a test in 2020 using social media messaging platform WhatsApp to distribute the requests.

All money collected will be invested in a Panamanian reforestation project, the airline said.

KLM refused too cooperate last year in the deportation of child asylum seekers Lili and Howick. The Dutch airline canceled their tickets one night before they were set to be on a flight to Armenia, according to a report from the Justice and Security Inspectorate, NOS reports.

The night before Lili and Howick's scheduled deportation, the director of KLM called the director general of repatriation and deportation service DT&V. The airline director informed him that KLM would not participate in the children's deportation. 

In the next 30 years, the Dutch government wants to limit the number of flights from Schiphol to popular tourist destinations. Instead the focus will be on increasing the airport's international network by favoring companies who contribute to this network in the distribution of flight slots, the Volkskrant reports based on Infrastructure Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen's draft Aviation Policy Document 2020-2050. 

Parties in the Tweede Kamer are doubtful about whether the Dutch State's purchase of 750 million euros in Air France-KLM shares is having the promised effect. Coalition party D66 and opposition parties PvdA and PVV, among others, want Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra to show how the government's purchase of these shares improved KLM's position in the airline combination, NOS reports. 

KLM ground crew workers are on strike between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. this morning. During that time, KLM will take no hold baggage on board. The airline also canceled a total of 16 flights - nine departures and seven arrivals. All canceled flights are flights within Europe, according to flight information from Schiphol.

KLM canceled a total of 11 departures and 10 arrivals at Schiphol airport on Monday due to a strike by the Dutch airline's ground crew. All flights are within Europe. 

The strike is happening between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. due to a conflict over a collective bargaining agreement. Union FNV wants an 8 percent wage increase over two years, a less flexible roster for ground crew, and for KLM to give more of its ground crew employees a permanent contract, according to NU.n. During negotiations, KLM did not agree to any of these demands.

A new terminal at Schiphol airport that was planned to open in 2023, will only open in 2026 at the earliest, the Telegraaf reports based on an information document for contractors who want to tender for the project. The construction of this third terminal, which is meant to help Schiphol better handle the ever increasing number of passengers, involves billions of euros, according to the newspaper.

A fuel supply problem at Schiphol on Wednesday is still causing troubles at the airport on Thursday afternoon. Although the problem has been solved, the airport is still struggling to catch up to its planned flight schedule, a Schiphol spokesperson said to NU.nl.

KLM canceled a total of 61 of its flights scheduled for Thursday, a KLM spokesperson said to the newspaper. "We are still very busy restarting our organization", the spokesperson said.

KLM is under fire over a recent tweet about the company's breastfeeding policy. According to the airline's policy, mothers are allowed to breastfeed their baby on board a flight, but can be asked to cover up if other passengers take offense. The tweet led to hundreds of predominantly negative reactions.

A misunderstanding seems to be the cause of a collision between an easyJet Airbus and a KLM Boeing at Schiphol on Tuesday. Air traffic control allowed both to leave the gate at the same time, after which they hit each other, according to sound recordings of the conversation between air traffic control and the KLM pilot, AD reports.