KLM plans to resume flights to Tel Aviv at the end of May, after suspending service nearly a year ago.
Although the airline insists the conditions are now safe enough, the decision draws sharp criticism from crew members.
Meanwhile, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema has urged the Dutch government to stop ignoring the atrocities in Palestine.
KLM staff push back on Israel flights
Plans to resume flights to Tel Aviv have sparked backlash from KLM’s employees, with unions representing crew members and pilots raising concerns about passenger and crew safety.
Tensions grew even higher on May 4, when a rocket just missed Ben-Gurion Airport, the main Israeli airfield from which KLM operates its flights.
In comments reported by NOS, one employee narrated the harrowing ordeal, recollecting that their colleagues “had to go into bomb shelters under loud sirens and be quickly repatriated home.”
Responding to the growing unease, the union of KLM cabin crew members proposed relocating layovers to Larnaca, Cyprus.
Despite these fears, KLM maintains that safety assessments have been thorough, with a spokesperson for the airline stating that they will ensure “everyone feels safe when carrying out these flights.”
Two senior staff members, including the chief pilot of KLM’s Boeing 737, will be on the first flight to reinforce that message.
While the airline denies that financial pressure played a role, it has previously acknowledged that suspending flights to Tel Aviv negatively impacted its revenue.
Mayor Halsema adds her voice: don’t ignore Gaza
Beyond the airline industry, concern is growing over renewed ties with Israel.
One of the loudest voices at the moment is Amsterdam’s mayor, Femke Halsema. In a speech to the city council, she urged the Dutch government to take a firmer stance on the ongoing violence in Gaza, and plans to send a formal letter to the cabinet calling for immediate action.
Though the video of her speech is in Dutch and may not be understood by all, her message is unmistakable: “The destruction of Gaza must stop. The starvation must stop. The murder of Palestinians must stop.”
Halsema also stressed that human rights must apply across the board. In her speech, she called for Hamas to be convicted and prosecuted, but emphasised that antisemitism should be “condemned and combated at all times and everywhere”.
Her position reflects a wider political shift. Just last week, Utrecht’s city council backed using the term “genocide” to describe what’s happening in Gaza.
For many, silence is no longer an option, whether in politics or at 30,000 feet.
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