(Repeats to show KLM continues to operate flights long after government demands are softened)
Jan 23 (Reuters) – Dutch airline KLM will continue to operate long-haul flights, including vaccine circulation, after agreeing with the government on softer requests for return of air crews to fast COVID tests -19.
The Dutch arm of Air France-KLM said earlier in the week that it would cancel its 270 weekly flights to the Netherlands as a result of new COVID-19 rules, urging passengers and crew to reveal evidence of a negative rapid coronavirus test taken just before departure.
KLM said at the time that this would make it impossible to continue flying to countries at high risk of coronavirus disease, as there would be a risk that they would have to leave the crew.
He warned that this would also hurt vaccine circulation as freight trips would be delayed as well.
But KLM said on Saturday afternoon that they had reached a compromise in which a flight crew on high-risk coronavirus flights would provide rapid antigen testing before departure from the Netherlands and upon their return.
A team also had to follow strict quarantine rules while living abroad, the health ministry said.
The Netherlands last week decided to ban the flights of passengers from Britain, South Africa and South America for up to a month, in a bid to stem the spread of new coronavirus mutations.
Passengers traveling to Amsterdam from other high-risk countries are still required to provide proof of a COVID-19 negative rapid test taken just before departure, as well as a negative PCR test passed. pick up within 72 hours of travel.
Reporting with Bart Meijer in Amsterdam and Rama Venkat in Bengaluru; Edited by Richard Chang