KLM has just celebrated this Wednesday, April 2nd, its 85 years of operation in Portugal.

Founded on October 7, 1919, the Dutch airline is the oldest in the world to operate under the same name. This summer, it offers a network of flights to 161 destinations on all continents, including to Amsterdam-Schiphol from Lisbon (started in 1940) and Porto (since 2017).

“We are proud to celebrate 85 years of continued presence in Portugal, which includes, for example, our very active role in the inauguration of Lisbon airport (Portela) in 1942, with the inaugural flight of one of KLM's first DC-3s. The rapprochement between the Dutch and Portuguese markets has continued to grow since then. Currently, the company proposes several daily flights from Lisbon and Porto to Amsterdam and, together with its partner Air France, offers a network of flights and connectivity to more than 320 destinations around the world through their respective hubs in Paris-CDG and Amsterdam-Schiphol.”, stated Laurent Perrier, Diretor-geral da Air France-KLM para Portugal e Espanha.

KLM has been flying to Portugal since April 2, 1940, when the Amsterdam–Porto–Lisbon–Amsterdam route was inaugurated, a relevant milestone in the commercial and cultural relations between the two countries in a particularly difficult period in Europe. This first flight was made in a DC-2, a precursor to Douglas' famous Dakota, and lasted 8 hours between Amsterdam and Espinho, where it stopped before landing at Granja do Marquês (Sintra Aerodrome).  A KLM DC-3 was also the first plane to open traffic at Portela Airport, in Lisbon, on October 15, 1942 – when the KLM fleet operated the Bristol-Lisbon-Bristol route, the only air connection with England at the time. On that day, KLM invited the Minister of Public Works, Duarte Pacheco, the British ambassador Balfour, the pilot-aviator colonel Alfredo Sintra, the president of Lisbon City Council, Rodrigues de Carvalho, the representative of British Imperial Airways, Alexandre Pinto Basto, and the editors of “Diário de Notícias” and “Diário Popular” for a demonstration flight. Throughout its history of more than 105 years, KLM's entrepreneurial spirit and pursuit of innovation have played a pioneering role in the aviation industry. Notably, KLM selected flight KL1713 between Porto and Amsterdam-Schiphol, operated on May 7, 2022, to represent the company in the inaugural edition of the 'Aviation Challenge.' This challenge is initiated by SkyTeam and dares airlines to conduct their operations as efficiently and with as little environmental impact as possible.

Offer in Portugal 

KLM's offer in Portugal will grow 23% this summer of 2025 compared to the same period last year. This increase occurs both on the connection between Porto and Amsterdam-Schiphol, which will include up to 4 daily flights (in both directions), and between Lisbon and the company's hub in the Netherlands. Also noteworthy is the introduction of the new A321neo on the Dutch company's Portuguese routes, a state-of-the-art aircraft that allows a 15% reduction in CO2 emissions per passenger kilometer and a 50% reduction in noise.   This offer is complemented by that of its partner Air France, which maintains services from Lisbon and Porto to the hub in Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and, as last summer, resumes the Faro – Paris-CDG service on June 7th. The group also continues to offer direct codeshare flights with its transatlantic joint venture partner, Delta Air Lines, from Lisbon to New York-JFK and Boston.