KLM Suspends All Long-Haul And Some European Flights From January 22nd.

KLM will suspend all long-haul flights and some short-haul ones on Friday due to new Covid-19 requirements instituted by the Dutch government this Friday (January 22, 2021).

The new requirements instituted by the Dutch government are close to impossible for the airlines and to the passengers to adhere to, and that is likely the reason behind them.

New requirements mandated by the government require passengers to obtain a negative COVID-19 rapid test result no later than four hours prior to departure to the Netherlands. In addition, passengers must also have a negative result from a PCR test conducted within 72 hours from their flight’s departure to be let into the country.

The Netherlands also announced a ban for passenger flights from the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, South Africa, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela. KLM currently serves eight of those countries.

The Caribbean Netherlands is also impacted by the new order, meaning travel may be impacted to Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba. A representative of the US Consulate in Curaçao told Insider that the constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean including Aruba, Sint Maarten, and Curaçao determine their own entry and exit policies, independent of the Netherlands.

On the home front, citizens in the Netherlands are advised not to have more than one daily visitor over the age of 13 and make no more than one daily visit to another household. A curfew is also being planned to keep residents inside between the hours of 8:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m.

The Netherlands is also restricting which types of travellers will be granted exemptions to enter the country during the pandemic. As a result, groups including business travellers and students will be barred from entry.