Dutch carrier KLM today (March 24) announced the suspension of flights into and from Cardiff Airport from March 29 to May 3.
The airline is retrenching its services and focusing on fewer routes during the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak, and the measure is one of a raft to deal with a significant downturn in airline travel.
Russell George AM, the Shadow Transport Minister, reacted to the news saying:
“Cardiff Airport has been struggling in recent months, and this blow from KLM – which is cutting around 90 percent of its flights – is clearly going to have an effect.
“Airport management had said – before this pandemic began to have a real impact on the sector – that Cardiff was ‘… in a stronger position’ because of its business growth and diversification over the past few years.
“However, this storm will be particularly difficult for the airport to ride out, and I hope the earlier optimism of its management – which had said the airport is in a ‘strong position to bounce back when the recovery comes’ – will be well-founded.”