Article from BTNews 2 JULY 2018
KLM-Manchester mark the day
Joining the line-up of anniversaries last week, Wednesday marked 80 years since KLM began operating from Manchester to Amsterdam Schiphol, a service that now connects northwest England to the Dutch capital and onward to KLM’s network of 165 destinations.
The airline’s Manchester – Amsterdam route was launched on 27 June 1938, two days after the opening of Ringway, as Manchester Airport used to be known, making KLM the first International carrier to operate from the northern hub.
The Dutch national carrier is the world’s oldest airline still operating under the same name and will celebrate its 100th birthday in October next year.
In 1938, the Manchester route was operated by a Douglas DC2 carrying up to 14 passengers – a far cry from today’s daily capacity of 1,600 passengers carried on a mix of Boeing B737s, Embraer E175s and Embraer E190s.
Air France KLM UK & Ireland general manager Bénédicte Duval said demand for efficient, seamless travel had grown rapidly and KLM now operated six daily flights between Manchester and Amsterdam.
She added: “In 2017 alone, we carried more than half a million passengers between the two cities, 62% of whom connect at Schiphol on to flights across our worldwide network, clearly indicating how important global connectivity is.”
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