KLM cancels winter flights to Dubai and Saudi Arabia
The airline will not fly to Dubai until the end of March and is extending the suspension of services to Riyadh and Dammam.
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KLM will not fly to Dubai throughout the winter, the airline reports according to NH Nieuws. Flights to the Saudi cities of Riyadh and Dammam will also remain suspended for longer because of the security situation in the Middle East.
According to the new schedule, flights to Dubai will not resume until 27 March 2027. The suspension for Riyadh and Dammam applies until 27 November. This means KLM is departing from its previous plan to resume services to all three destinations during the winter.
KLM points to the continuing geopolitical unrest in the region. The airline adjusts its network when routes, airspace or airports cannot be used with sufficient safety or reliability. No precise date for resumption after the stated periods has been announced.
The decision affects both travellers and businesses that rely on connections with the Gulf region. According to KLM, passengers with a cancelled flight will be given the option of rebooking their journey or requesting a refund. Travellers should check their individual booking, as alternatives may differ by destination and ticket.
At the end of September, KLM presented a winter programme with 164 destinations in 64 countries. It included plans to resume flights to Dubai, Riyadh and Dammam, subject to the situation in the Middle East. Those plans have now been adjusted for these routes.
The suspension says nothing about the safety of all flights to the region. Other airlines and routes may make different decisions, depending on their own risk assessments and the availability of airspace. For Dutch travellers, the KLM decision mainly means that direct connections from Schiphol will not return for the time being.
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Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The new suspension and the end dates were reported by NH Nieuws on 26 October and are consistent with KLM's earlier route information. The text avoids claims about the safety of other airlines and routes.
- confirmed KLM will not fly to Dubai until 27 March 2027. — NH Nieuws reported this end date on 26 October. source
- confirmed Flights to Riyadh and Dammam have been cancelled until 27 November. — NH Nieuws reported this extension. source
- confirmed KLM initially intended to resume services to the three destinations during the winter. — KLM mentioned resumption in its winter schedule, subject to the situation. source
Editor's note
The new end dates were reported by NH Nieuws on the basis of information from KLM. KLM's earlier winter schedule confirms that resumption had initially been planned; the exact consequences for each booking have not been established generally.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- de Volkskrant — „klm schiphol”
- NU.nl — „klm schiphol”
- De Telegraaf — „klm schiphol”