Klm re-evaluates the future of its Ground Services division and its personnel. Negotiations with the unions suspended for mediation

Certainly a shock that has hit the Air France-Klm Group and the Amsterdam-Schiphol hub in a context already strained by strikes. Air France and Delta Air Lines have formally informed Klm of their decision to end the partnership for ground handling services at the Dutch airport. The two carriers will now seek an alternative provider for all "below-the-wing" operations, including baggage loading and unloading.

The decision, announced by Klm in a statement today, 29 September 2025, has immediate operational implications for the Dutch carrier, in particular for its Ground Services department, and has triggered an assessment of the "financial and employment consequences" that will follow.

The crucial role of the strikes

The main cause of the abrupt split appears to lie in the repeated union actions that have affected Klm's ground staff, causing hundreds of flight cancellations and delays at Schiphol in the closing month of September. A Klm spokesperson stated that the severe disruptions played a decisive role in Air France’s and Delta’s decision, which allegedly suffered "millions of euros in damages" and were forced to disappoint a large number of passengers.

Delta, a strategic partner of Klm in the transatlantic alliance, and Air France, which is part of the same Group, operate a total of around 29 daily connections arriving at and departing from Schiphol. The search for new providers (a process that involves inviting bids) is already underway.

Union truce with mediator

The news of the breakup comes on a day of relative calm on the industrial relations front. Klm has confirmed that the strike by ground staff, previously called by the Fnv and Cnv unions for 1 October 2025, has been suspended. In an attempt to break the current deadlock, Klm and the unions have agreed to a "truce" in hostilities. The parties will resume discussions under the guidance of an independent mediator (yet to be appointed), giving themselves until 1 November to make progress in the dispute over the collective labour agreement. 

Despite the truce, the Cnv union disputed Klm's version, arguing that Delta's and Air France's decision is not related to the service failures caused by the union actions.

It is undoubted, however, that the new scenario, with the loss of important ground handling contracts, adds an unprecedented element of pressure to the ongoing wage negotiations.