KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V., is the flag carrier of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM group and a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. Founded in 1919, KLM is the oldest operating airline in the world, and has 35,488 employees with a fleet of 110 as of 2021. KLM operates scheduled passenger and cargo services to 145 destinations.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, known informally as Schiphol Airport, is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province of North Holland. It is the world's third busiest airport by international passenger traffic in 2021. With almost 72 million passengers in 2019, it is the third-busiest airport in Europe in terms of passenger volume and the busiest in Europe in terms of aircraft movements. With an annual cargo tonnage of 1.74 million, it is the 4th busiest in Europe. AMS covers a total area of 6,887 acres of land. The airport is built on the single-terminal concept: one large terminal split into three departure halls.
Martinair is a Dutch cargo and former passenger airline headquartered and based at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and a subsidiary of Air France–KLM. The airline was founded in 1958 by Martin Schröder. Since 2011, Martinair has operated entirely as a cargo airline with scheduled services to 20 destinations worldwide and additional charter flights. Prior to that date, passenger flights were also operated.
Martinair Flight 495 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 operated by Dutch airline Martinair, that crash-landed in severe weather conditions at Faro Airport, Portugal on 21 December 1992. The aircraft carried 13 crew members and 327 passengers, mainly holidaymakers from the Netherlands. 54 passengers and 2 crew members died. 106 of the other occupants were badly injured.
Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 was a passenger flight that crashed during landing at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, the Netherlands, on 25 February 2009, resulting in the deaths of nine passengers and crew, including all three pilots.
The 1946 KLM Douglas C-47 Amsterdam accident was the crash of a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight from London to Amsterdam on 14 November 1946. The accident occurred as the aircraft was attempting to land at Amsterdam's airport in poor weather. All 26 passengers and crew on board were killed.
Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 892 was a scheduled international passenger flight of Garuda Indonesian Airways from Jakarta to Amsterdam with stopovers in Singapore, Bangkok, Bombay, Karachi, Cairo, and Rome. On 28 May 1968, a Convair 990A jet airliner was operating the flight's Bombay to Karachi segment when it crashed while climbing out after take-off from Santacruz Airport. The aircraft crashed in Bilalpada village near Nala Sopara, killing all 29 passengers and crew on board and one person on the ground. The cause of the accident is unknown, but it is presumed to originate from misfuelling during the stopover in Bombay. It was the first fatal accident and the second hull loss of the Convair 990 aircraft.
Gerrit Johannes "Geys" Geysendorffer was a Dutch aviation pioneer, knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau, and recipient of the 1926 Harmon National Trophy for the Netherlands.
On 17 February 1956 a Douglas R5D-2 Skymaster of the United States Marine Corps on route from Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California to Naval Air Station Alameda crashed on approach at Niles Canyon, c. 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north of Niles, California. All 35 marines and 5 crew members died. The board of inquiry by the Marine Corps into the cause of the crash blamed that the flight crew’s made multiple mistakes.
The Transports Aériens Intercontinentaux Douglas DC-6B scheduled flight from Saigon, Vietnam to Paris, France crashed on 20 February 1956 before its third stopover 25 km North-East of Cairo International Airport due to crew error and possible fatigue. 52 people on board were killed.
On 24 November 1956 the ČSA Czechoslovak Airlines Ilyushin Il-12B "OK-DBP" was an international scheduled passenger flight from Zürich to Prague. Shortly after take off from Zurich-Kloten Airport the airplane crashed 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) north of the airport in a field near Eglisau and Wasterkingen, Switzerland. All 23 people on board were killed.
Full Play was a major aviation exercise of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that took place over a three-day period in June 1958 in the North West NATO region.
On 1 July 1948 the Avio Linee Italiane Fiat G.212PW “I-ELSA” was an international scheduled passenger flight from Milano-Linate Airport, Italy to Brussel-Zaventem Airport, Belgium. The airplane crashed during an emergency landing at 12:20pm local time. Eight of the twelve people on board were killed.
On 7 October 1946 a Fairey Firefly of the Netherlands Naval Aviation Service crashed next to the Hogere Burgerschool in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. The burning fuel tank fell into the gym where 27 students were at the time. Of the 27 students, 22 lost their lives, together with the pilot Max Christern. The pilot's mother died of a heart attack later that day, after she arrived at the scene of the crash and was told about his fate.
On 14 July 1935 Fokker F.XXII PH-AJQ Kwikstaart was an international passenger flight from Amsterdam via Hamburg and Copenhagen to Malmö. The plane crashed and burned down shortly after take-off just outside Schiphol after both left side engines failed due to a defect in the fuel system, killing four crew members and two passengers. Fourteen people survived.
On 20 July 1935 a Douglas DC-2 aircraft, registration PH-AKG, operated by KLM, flying from Milano, Italy to Schiphol, Amsterdam, in the Netherlands crashed at Pian San Giacomo, Switzerland, killing all thirteen people on board, in the deadliest KLM accident at that time. It was the company's third international passsenger flight accident in one week, which became known as the "black week". This left KLM short of crew and airplanes, and routes were given up; the Amsterdam—Milan route was taken over by Deutsche Lufthansa.
On 24 April 1924 KLM operated Fokker F.III H-NABS on an international passenger flight from Lympne Airport, United Kingdom to Waalhaven the Netherlands. The plane with the pilot and two passengers on board disappeared while flying over the English Channel. After a large search operation the plane was not found. It is presumed the plane crashed into the English Channel.
On 24 July 1928, KLM-owned Fokker F.III H-NABR was a passenger flight from Waalhaven Airport, the Netherlands. The plane with the pilot and five passengers on board stalled on takeoff and crashed after it struck boats in the Waalhaven harbour next to the airport. One passenger died after not all passengers could be saved in time while the airplane sank.
