KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Connects Manston Airport to its Worldwide Network
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines further strengthens its regional presence in the UK with the start of scheduled flights out of Manston Airport in Kent.
Commencing on the 2nd of April 2013 schedule, the twice-daily flights will connect Manston to KLM’s award-winning hub Schiphol, in Amsterdam. The airline will offer convenient connections to its worldwide network of over 150 destinations from the South East of England.
KLM will operate the new scheduled services twice daily using Fokker 70 jet aircraft, carrying up to 80 passengers. The flight schedule, which is optimised both for convenient same-day returns to Amsterdam as well as for quick and efficient transfers to its worldwide network, is as follows:
| Flight Number | Origin | Destination | Departure (local time) | Arrival (local time) |
| KL1516 | Manston | Amsterdam | 06:35 | 08:35 |
| KL1519 | Amsterdam | Manston | 10:10 | 10:05 |
| KL1520 | Manston | Amsterdam | 10:40 | 12:35 |
| KL1523 | Amsterdam | Manston | 20:50 | 20:45 |
Flights will open for sale from the 14th of November on the airline’s website www.klm.com
The launch of the Manston service further cements KLM’s position as the UK’s regional airline of choice. The carrier now offers 17 departure airports in Great Britain, making it the UK’s largest long haul regional airline. Departure airports include London (Heathrow and City), Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness, Newcastle, Leeds, Cardiff, Bristol, Southampton, Durham Teesvalley, Humberside, Norwich and now Manston.
Henri Hourcade, General Manager for Air France / KLM in the UK stated : ‘Demand for efficient and convenient schedules to long-haul destinations from the UK continues to grow, to emerging markets in Latin America, Africa and the Far East, but equally to established markets such as North America. By connecting the UK regions to worldwide destinations, KLM is offering more choice to holidaymakers, but equally adding to the infrastructure for regional UK businesses.’
The airline’s hub at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is consistently voted one of Europe’s best business airports and was voted Best Airport in Europe at the 2012 Business Traveller magazine awards. Connections to European cities can be made in as little as 40 minutes; to long haul destinations 50 minutes is enough to efficiently transfer at the airport.
Charles Buchanan, Chief Executive at Manston Airport, said: “The new services will be a real benefit to Kent and its residents. Passengers will be able to arrive at Manston, park adjacent to the terminal building, check in and be on the flight to Amsterdam within minutes, a hassle-free experience that makes travelling a pleasure. Passengers from Manston can leave home without the worries of road congestion or excessive flight delays affecting their journey“.
For more photo's of the annoucement please click here.
