KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has resumed passenger flights from Amsterdam to Shanghai, and added Riyadh to its network.
The airline said it will also adjust its schedule for flights between Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and some of the Gulf States in the Middle East.
The carrier resumed flights to Shanghai on July 21 after a five month suspension due to the coronavirus crisis. KLM now operates one weekly flight to Shanghai with a B777-300 aircraft which makes a stop in Seoul (South Korea) on both outbound and inbound flights.
“The resumption of flights to Shanghai is a cautious but positive sign of recovery and illustrates our good relationship with China and our partners there. KLM is carefully expanding its network to make sure our customers have as much choice of destinations as possible. The fact that we can now offer Shanghai again is an important milestone in the laborious reconstruction of the KLM route network at a difficult time,” said KLM president and CEO Pieter Elbers.
KLM will also fly directly from Amsterdam to Riyadh four times a week. The return flight will make a “short stopover” in Dammam in Saudi Arabia, a destination that was already included in the KLM network before the coronavirus crisis, the carrier says.
The flights will be operated with an A330-200 with 18 seats in the business class cabin and 246 seats in the economy class cabin.
KLM’s flight schedule for flights to Riyadh:
| Flight number | From | To | Departure (local time) | Arrival (local time) | Days of the week |
| KL0425 and KL0423 | Amsterdam | Riyadh | 15.35 hours | 22.40 hours | Mon, Tue, Thu, Sat |
| KL0425 and KL0423 | Riyadh | Dammam | 23.45 hours | 01.10 hours | Mon, Tue, Thu, Sat |
| KL0425 and KL0423 | Dammam | Amsterdam | 02.25 hours | 08.05 hours | Tue, Wed, Fri, Sun |
The carrier’s flights to Muscat will be operated with a “short stopover” in Abu Dhabi from August 3. There will be three flights per week. The Amsterdam-Abu Dhabi-Muscat-Abu Dhabi-Amsterdam route will be operated using the Boeing 787-9 with 30 seats in the business class cabin and 264 seats in the economy class cabin.
| Flight number | From | To | Departure (local time) | Arrival (local time) | Days of the week |
| KL0453 | Amsterdam | Abu Dhabi | 11.30 hours | 20.05 hours | Mon, Thu, Sat |
| KL0453 | Abu Dhabi | Muscat | 21.20 hours | 22.40 hours | Mon, Thu, Sat |
| KL0454 | Muscat | Abu Dhabi | 23.45 hours | 01.00 hours | Tue, Fri, Sun |
| KL0454 | Abu Dhabi | Amsterdam | 02.10 hours | 07.00 hours | Mon, Wed, Sat |
The airline is restarting flights via Kuwait to Bahrain on September 29. It plans to fly the route three times per week.
| Flight number | From | To | Departure (local time) | Arrival (local time) | Days of the week |
| KL0445 | Amsterdam | Kuwait | 14.15 hours | 21.00 hours | Tue, Thu, Sat |
| KL0445 | Kuwait | Bahrein | 22.10 hours | 23.20 hours | Tue, Thu, Sat |
| KL0446 | Bahrein | Kuwait | 00.30 hours | 01.45 hours | Mon, Thu, Sat |
| KL0446 | Kuwait | Amsterdam | 03.05 hours | 08.15 hours | Mon, Thu, Sat |
The carrier says its flights from Amsterdam to Dubai will remain unchanged. KLM operates daily flights on this route with a Boeing 777-200.