At very short notice KLM cancelled all its UK departures for Saturday (23 January).

On Friday all the inbound passengers were unloaded, the aircraft then returning with no passengers to Amsterdam.

The British airports affected include Aberdeen, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London City, Heathrow, Manchester and Newcastle.

Flights from Amsterdam have also been curtailed to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, South Africa, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

No date has been given for a return of flights.  Earlier Friday KLM CEO had issued a statement indicating that there would be a further downsizing of the airline which in July dismissed some 5,000 staff.  A further 800-1,000 jobs are to go including 500 cabin attendants, 100 aircrew and 200 to 400 ground staff. The further staff reduction does not yet encompass any further measures announced by the Dutch government.

www.klm.com