KLM to resume flights from Edmonton International Airport

EDMONTON -- Travellers will soon have access to an international flight from Edmonton, five months after the COVID-19 lockdown.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will offer a non-stop flight from Edmonton International Airport (EIA) to Amsterdam beginning Oct. 29, 2020.

"Service to Amsterdam will help open the world back up for our passengers as well as provide an important cargo route," EIA president and CEO Tom Ruth said in a written release. "We’re glad to have one of the world’s oldest and top airlines returning to our runways.”

International flights cannot land at EIA because of federal restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Returning passengers will land in Calgary before flying to Edmonton.

The new flight will be offered twice a week.

KLM has been flying in and out of EIA for five years. EIA called its return "a pillar in Alberta's economic recovery from COVID-19."

Air travel fell drastically this spring due to the pandemic. A July report by credit ratings company DBRS Morningstar said that EIA won't see traffic levels return to a pre-pandemic normal until 2024.

• READ MORE: Lower-than-average traffic at Edmonton airport won't return to normal for years: report

Passengers on KLM flights must wear a face mask and be free of COVID-19 symptoms. Travellers are required to self-isolate for 14 days after returning to Canada from an international destination.

The federal government still does not recommend non-essential travel outside of Canada.