KLM to restore Dubai, Dammam and Riyadh flights for winter season

KLM intends to reinstate service to Dubai, Dammam and Riyadh at the start of the winter season, the Dutch carrier says, after the routes were suspended earlier this year because of the Middle East conflict. The airline cautions that the exact timetable will depend on conditions in the region at the time.

The winter schedule covers 164 destinations and includes the introduction of Airbus A350 operations. KLM also plans to keep flying between Amsterdam and Tel Aviv, having restored that link on 25 August.

On Uganda, the carrier says it is working to resume flights to Entebbe. Service there was halted during the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa.

KLM is not alone in returning capacity to the region. Wizz Air said earlier this month that it would progressively restore 12 Middle East routes over the winter, a decision it based on the European Union Aviation Safety Agency's latest review of conflict zone recommendations.

In its bulletin for the airspace over the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, revised on 31 August and valid through 30 September, EASA describes military developments as unpredictable and says they create a high risk to civil flights at all altitudes and flight levels over those waters. The agency adds that while risks over the Gulf remain high, operations needed for arrivals at or departures from aerodromes within the affected flight information regions may be conducted with sufficient mitigation, provided they rest on an appropriate assessment.