KLM Targets Selective Growth With Three New European Routes

LISBON, Portugal—KLM plans to add three new European destinations in summer 2026 as the carrier continues to fine-tune its hub-and-spoke strategy under tight capacity constraints at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS).

The Dutch carrier will add Jersey in the Channel Islands as well as the Spanish cities of Santiago de Compostela and Oviedo, with all three routes operated by KLM Cityhopper using Embraer 175 and 190 aircraft. The additions underscore KLM’s focus on selective network growth rather than overall capacity expansion—a theme emphasized by CEO Marjan Rintel during an interview at the CAPA Leader Summit World in Lisbon on Dec. 12.

Rintel said that KLM’s underlying business model remains unchanged, but the way the airline deploys its network is evolving. With growth at AMS effectively capped, KLM is prioritizing routes that strengthen connectivity and feed its long-haul network while meeting leisure and VFR demand.

“The main thing in the Netherlands is [it is] impossible to grow,” Rintel said. “There’s no growth anymore. So, you need to make that sense.” She pointed to the importance of “unique, smaller destinations” that support the hub. “It’s important for us to feed our destinations, and that’s the reason why, fundamentally, we still have [a] hub-and-spoke [model],” she added.

The new routes align with that approach. Jersey provides a niche leisure and short-break destination with limited direct links to major hubs, while Santiago de Compostela and Oviedo open access to northwest Spain, a region with growing tourism appeal but less saturation than Spain’s major coastal markets.

Jersey service will begin April 4, operating Saturdays early and late in the season and daily between July 4 and Aug. 30. Oviedo launches March 29, followed by Santiago de Compostela on May 30, with both Spanish routes also ramping up to daily service during the height of summer before scaling back in the shoulder months.

Rintel explained that KLM’s overall network strategy is being shaped by mounting regulatory, environmental and political pressure at AMS, where a government-imposed cap of 478,000 annual flight movements—down from 500,000—came into force at the start of the IATA winter season on Oct. 26. The cap follows years of debate over aircraft noise and public health impacts and remains the subject of ongoing legal challenges by the aviation industry.

At the same time, the Netherlands is moving toward higher aviation taxes. Under the latest national budget proposal, flight taxes would rise again from 2027, potentially reaching nearly €30 ($35) per short-haul ticket and more than €70 for long-haul flights.

Rintel said the challenge for KLM is to protect connectivity while operating within those constraints, arguing that limits and higher costs should not become objectives in themselves. “Reduction is not the goal in itself,” she said. “You need a strong economy, you need strong infrastructure and you need a home carrier for your economy, for businesses in the Netherlands and for all the connections we have.”