Bosses at major airline KLM say Newcastle Airport has led the way in post-Covid passenger growth across its UK bases. The Dutch carrier's comments came as it celebrates 40 years of flying from Newcastle, where it now operates 35 weekly flights to Amsterdam, and onward to world destinations such as Bangkok, Hong Kong and New York. Airport chiefs have hailed KLM's role in making Newcastle a success over that time.
Speaking to ChronicleLive at Newcastle's Aspire Airport Lounge, KLM's general manager for UK & Ireland, Jerome Salemi said: "We started with five flights a week, with a small aircraft of 85 seats. And 40 years later we have five daily flights. So it’s multiplied considerably and we’re really happy to celebrate this because it’s a real success story for Newcastle and for KLM Group as a whole.
“There is a lot of cooperation between the airport and the airline and even during very difficult times we have stayed connected.” Newcastle is one of KLM’s largest regional bases, also boasting regular flights between Paris with Air France, which is part of the same group. Together the carriers make KLM’s presence at Newcastle greater than British Airways.
Mr Salemi added: "It’s one of the biggest for us in the UK but also one of the best in terms of quality. We have some of the best customer satisfaction scores here in terms of the airport services and facilities. We can talk about the quality of check-in, boarding and the lounge.
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