KLM Cuts Winter Schedule to Las Vegas, Miami and Orlando
The move follows the Dutch government’s tighter restrictions on travelers from the US
Dutch flag carrier KLM has cut flights to Las Vegas, Miami and Orlando from its winter schedule. The decision comes in the wake of the Dutch government’s designation of the US as a “very high risk area.”
KLM has been set to fly from Amsterdam to the US cities during the winter period between Oct. 31, 2021 and March 26, 2022, but has removed the routes from its schedules “until further notice.”
Last week the European Union issued a recommendation to its member states to reinstate a ban on nonessential travel from the US and five other nations, citing a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in those areas. The EU decision reverses a recommendation the Council made in June to grant entry to fully vaccinated travelers from the US.
Besides the United States, the other countries that the EU Council said should be subject to tighter restrictions are Kosovo, Israel, Montenegro, Lebanon and North Macedonia.
The Dutch government’s new rules mean unvaccinated US travelers are now effectively banned from entering the Netherlands, while fully vaccinated travelers must quarantine for ten days on arrival.
Calling the government’s decision “a big step backwards,” the carrier said in a statement, “Health and fighting COVID-19 are paramount but the measures taken must be effective and proportionate. It looks like other EU member states, such as Italy, France and Belgium are not putting a triple lock on the door for travelers from the US.”
