dailynewsnblog
Readers familiar with the commercial aviation sector in the United Kingdom will be aware of the fact that, when it comes to regional connectivity, Dutch flag carrier KLM arguably does a better job than hometown airline 
British Airways. This is evidenced by the fact that, if we include its recent addition of the British Crown Dependency of Jersey, the SkyTeam founding member now serves 19 destinations in the country from Amsterdam.
All in all, present scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows that KLM has penciled in a grand total of 23,633 one-way departures from its main hub at 
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) to UK destinations (plus Jersey) in 2026. Aside from point-to-point connectivity, these services also benefit regional UK flyers thanks to worldwide onward connections at AMS. Let’s examine how they are spread out.
The Latest Addition
KLM began flying from Amsterdam Schiphol to Jersey Airport (JER) on Saturday, April 4. The Easter weekend represented a somewhat apt start date, given that the route’s announcement in December of 2025 also served as something of an early Christmas present for flyers in the Channel Islands. All in all, KLM has scheduled 79 one-way departures from Amsterdam to Jersey this year, and the route is seasonal, running from April to October.
These flights use the Dutch flag carrier’s regional aircraft from the Embraer E-Jet family under the KLM Cityhopper brand, and will generally operate on a weekly basis. However, in the peak summer months of July and August, this frequency will be boosted to almost daily levels (28 and 30 flights respectively). Ports of Jersey CEO Matt Thomas welcomed the route as one that will benefit flyers at both ends, stating at the time of the launch that:
“It opens Jersey to KLM’s global network, meaning Islanders can reach major international destinations with one simple connection. It will also mean strengthened tourism links, enabling new markets to discover Jersey.”
KLM’s UK Routes By Frequency
With Jersey Airport being KLM’s newest destination, it is understandable that, this year, it has by far the lowest frequency among KLM’s routes to the UK and the Channel Islands. Indeed, at the other end of the scale, its top UK destination by frequency, London Heathrow Airport (LHR), has almost 35 times as many flights scheduled this year, with 2,764 departures penciled in from Amsterdam. This equates to around 7.5 a day on average.
Elsewhere in the British capital, London City Airport (LCY) ranks second, with 2,220 flights, although it has fewer seats than third-placed Manchester’s (MAN) 2,082 flights due to smaller aircraft being used. This is a trend that continues throughout the rankings, with Aberdeen’s (ABZ) 1,728 flights offering fewer seats than Birmingham’s (BHX) 1,710, and Newcastle’s (NCL) 1,665 flights offering fewer seats than Edinburgh’s (EDI) 1,520.
Elsewhere in the UK, there are 1,345 flights to Glasgow (GLA), followed by 1,274 to Bristol (BRI), 1,232 to Norwich (NWI), 1,091 to Leeds Bradford (LBA), and 1,054 to Humberside (HUY). Among the airports with three-figure totals, Teesside (MME) ranks the highest, with 812 flights, followed by Cardiff (CWL) on 730, Southampton (SOU) on 717, Belfast City (BHD) on 662, Inverness (INV) on 590, and, finally, Exeter (EXT) on 358. But which jets are used?
Why Does KLM Have An Engineering Base At The UK’s Norwich Airport?
KLM’s UK Engineering base was the result of acquisitions and provides services for a variety of modern airliners.
Which Aircraft Types Are Used?
Given the dominance of regional airports in KLM’s UK schedules, it is unsurprising to see that this is reflected in terms of the aircraft that are used on these flights, with the three top models by frequency all being regional jets from Brazilian planemaker Embraer. Indeed, the E175 alone accounts for a whopping 29.7% of KLM’s coverage in the UK and the Channel Islands, as it is scheduled to operate 7,021 of the 23,633 flights this year.
5,155 flights (21.8%) will use the larger E190, with 4,062 (17.2%) operated by the even larger (and more modern) E195-E2. With that being said, on account of being much larger, the fourth-placed Airbus A321neo offers the most seats, despite only operating 2,934 flights. The rest of KLM’s coverage in the UK and the Channel Islands is split between three Boeing 737 variants: the 737-800 (2,799), the 737-700 (1,097), and the 737-900 (565).
