Air France-KLM, BA To Operate UK Flights Normally Wednesday

Air France-KLM (AF.FR) and British Airways Tuesday said they plan to operate normal services to and from the U.K. on Wednesday despite planned strikes at airports.

Public-sector workers in the U.K., including border-control officers, are striking over pension changes, likely causing disruptions to passenger flow at airports.

The three airlines are offering passengers the option of switching their bookings to Tuesday or after Wednesday with no penalties for those with non-switchable bookings. However, they aren't offering cancellations because flights schedules are being maintained.

The strike action by immigration officials will actually start on Tuesday evening because of the workers' staggered shift system.

"But we're not expecting any particular issues tonight," a BA spokesman said.

KLM launches new route to Luanda in Angola

KLM expanded its African network on 14 November by launching two weekly flights to Luanda (LAD) from its Amsterdam (AMS) hub. KLM will be operating to the Angolan capital airport, which its sister airline Air France already also serves twice a week from Paris, with 318-seat 777-200ER aircraft. Air France and KLM will be serving a total of 45 destinations in Africa this winter.

KLM to start Havana flights

Dutch flag carrier KLM will begin to offer three-times-a-week flights to Cuba starting Oct. 31, the Cuban tourism ministry announced.

The flights, on 285-seat MD11 aircraft, will connect Amsterdam and Havana on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The Havana flights are part of a “marked expansion” of the airline in the Caribbean, KLM President and CEO Peter Hartman said in a press release earlier this year. KLM’s target clientele will be not only Dutch tourists, but also travelers from other European countries, according to Hartman.

Dutch tourists aside, the KLM connection, according to the Cuban tourism ministry, is expected to bring in more visitors from Scandinavia, Germany and Eastern Europe.