KLM is temporarily hiring extra staff to process the increased number of claims. The airline received more customer questions and claims after the week of snow at Schiphol in January and has not yet finished processing them.
CEO Marjan Rintel said Thursday she was disappointed with the start of 2026. KLM cancelled hundreds of flights due to the winter weather. “It’s a shame the year is starting this way. It’s affecting our passengers; that uncertainty is unpleasant.”
The CEO previously stated that communication should have been improved. An evaluation is currently underway with Schiphol Airport to determine further improvements. The results are expected at the end of March.
Chaotic days
The chaotic first days of this year cost Air France-KLM, KLM’s parent company, 90 million euros.
Rintel doesn’t want to comment yet on a potential claim from the airline at Schiphol. “My priorities now are evaluating and handling our passengers’ questions. After that, we’ll look further.”
150 flights cancelled
The evaluation aims to better prepare for another week of snow. “Questions such as: how often does something happen and how much are you willing to invest,” says Rintel. The CEO speaks of “extreme weather that occurs once every fifteen years,” which was “felt throughout the Netherlands.”
Flights from Schiphol were also cancelled several days this month due to winter weather. Last Sunday, KLM had to cancel at least 150 flights due to snowfall.
Besides additional staff, KLM is also making greater use of digital solutions to address the backlog. The number of claims is also higher due to the baggage disruption at Schiphol Airport in December, which left approximately 20,000 suitcases behind at the airport.
@anp | NEWS BRAINPORT
