Route planners at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have had a busy few weeks as they adjust to yet more flip-flopping travel restrictions. But just weeks after pulling Miami and Las Vegas from its winter schedule, the Amsterdam-based airline has quickly added them back after President Biden took Europe by surprise with his announcement that an 18-month travel ban would finally be lifted in November.
After putting Miami and Las Vegas on sale earlier this year, perhaps in the hope that the travel ban would be lifted, KLM announced in early September it wouldn’t actually be operating the flights this winter after all.
At the time, KLM blamed a decision by the Dutch government to designate the United States as a very high-risk area meaning that even fully vaccinated Americans with a negative COVID-19 test would still have to isolate for between five and 10-days on arrival in the Netherlands.
But when those restrictions were pulled back just two weeks later, KLM didn’t add the flights back. That’s perhaps because flights to Miami and Las Vegas were always meant to cater for local demand and the Dutch government’s COVID-19 rule confusion might as well have been a well-timed excuse for pulling the flights.
Following President Biden’s decision to lift the European Schengen zone travel ban for fully vaccinated travellers It was only a matter of time before KLM responded.
On Friday, KLM announced what sunseekers and partygoers had been waiting for… Miami and Las Vegas would be returning to the airline’s route map for the winter season.
The flights will resume from December 7 with both routes being served three times per week. Passengers who had already been rebooked onto connecting flights will now have the option to rebook yet again onto one of the direct flights.
KLM’s planned service to Orlando, which would have been part of a circle route via Miami, won’t, however, go ahead as planned this winter.
