KLM Royal Dutch Airlines complaints: comments, page 26
2,012 comments
Technical problems
Flight KLM1176 was cancelled at approx 11:00 hrs on the 16th July. I was given alternative flights to Bristol, via Aberdeen, departed Stavanger at 15:30 hrs. I arrived in Bristol at 19:30 hrs.- Stavanger-Bristol
- Economy
No reason given
We booked this flight because it was a quick option to travel from Bali to Bilbao due to a medical emergency. At no point did it stateβat least not on the website through which we bookedβthat the flight would make a stopover in Singapore. Apart from the delay, this stopover forced us to disembark, which worsened the health condition of the person I was travelling with. We specifically needed not only a quick route but also a comfortable one, as she was already feeling very unwell due to the medical emergency. These tickets were extremely expensive; we purchased them on the same day due to the urgency, and we needed to arrive in Bilbao at a specific time. However, we missed our connection and had to take another flight around 5 hours later. In addition, the flight was very uncomfortable, particularly because we were unaware of the Singapore stopover. We would certainly not have chosen this flight had we known about it. We had other available optionsβpriced at around β¬600βthat would have resulted in the same overall travel time. Given the medical situation, our priority was to find the most comfortable and direct possible route to Spain. This flight cost β¬2,000 per person. If needed, we can provide all medical emergency reports, both from Bali and from Spain upon arrival. In light of all this, we kindly request a full refund of the total cost of the flights, as the service provided did not meet our needs in any way. The unexpected stop in Singapore, the subsequent missed connection, and the extremely high price we paid for the tickets justify a total reimbursement. Ideally, this should be made as a direct refund. If that is not possible, we would accept a voucher for the full amount, provided it has no expiration date, as we do not travel frequently.- Denpasar-Bilbao
- Economy
Technical problems
In the morning, we were flying when the captain said that there was a problem with one of the navigation panels and we had to go back to Amsterdam. We were flying approximately 20/25 minutes and the we returned 25 minutes. Finally, I arrived the same day around 21:30, by taking the only possible alternative flight for me (KLM 1359 - Departure at 20) that also had a delay of 20 minutes. I did receive a voucher of 15 euros, but it was not enough for a stay of more than 7 hours. I had to eat for more than 20 euros, but I did not get receipts for everything, only bank transfers to Albert Heijn and some restaurants in Schiphol. The incident caused great delays and changed plans in Prague, where someone paid to get me from the airport. The cost was estimated at 5 euros. I missed a visit to the city center that day.- Amsterdam-Prague
- Economy
No reason given
Flight was delayed for 2,5 hour, which in time turned into just over 3 hours. The present crew was not informed of the reason of the delay so no further information was given The delay was made public 1,5 hours before the original flight time. I received a 7 euro voucher for the delay but this was unfortunately given after 21:00 which means that options where very limited since most restaurants where already closed. I went to meet my girlfriends parents for the first time but unfortunately they had to leave before i was able to join due to the flight arriving shortly after 02:00. This was the main reason i went to Budapest.- Amsterdam-Budapest
- Economy
Technical problems
Provided β¬11 each for food and drink at the 2hrs mark Flight departed 5 hours late due to a flat tyre.- Schonefeld-Amsterdam
- Economy
- Successful claim
No reason given
First flight was delayed so the passenger would not make it for connecting flight to Lisbon. KLM employee at the desk had rebooked the flights for following days and advised to book hotel and airport transfer by himself and claim for the refund- Hamburg-Lisbon
- Economy
- Successful claim
Technical problems
we needed to evacuate the plane because it was not working somehow and after more than 5 hours we were heading towards Entebbe- Amsterdam-Entebbe
- Economy
- Successful claim
- Florence-Amsterdam
- Economy
- Successful claim
- Florence-Amsterdam
- Economy
- Successful claim
Technical problems
The delayed flight made us miss one full day of preplanned events in Croatia. Also, our luggage was lost until 7-31-25 when delivered to our hotel in Zagreb, the Westin--two suitcases. it was very inconvenient having to wear the same clothes for 4 days. We did buy 2 shirts for Robert which we submitted the receipt for.- Minneapolis-Zagreb
- Economy
Upgrade seat
When I flew from Tokyo to Amsterdam, I had upgraded my seat online in advance and selected seat 8A. However, when I checked in, the ground staff told me that my seat was broken, that the upgrade was not possible, and that I should return to economy class and apply for a refund on the official website myself. After waiting and asking multiple times, they eventually gave me a business class seat, but it was not the one I had chosen. I also checked my originally selected seat, 8A, and found that it was not broken at all. They had given it to a white passenger instead. Why did this happen? Was it because of discrimination? Why is it that the seats for Japanese passengers and other Western-looking passengers were βnot broken,β but my seat was supposedly broken? Was it because I am Chinese that they gave my seat to someone else and lied to me about it being broken?- Economy
Technical problems
The flight took off, flew around and then landed about 20 mins later. I donβt have images of the vouchers but was put in a hotel etc- Amsterdam-Bordeaux
- Economy
- Successful claim
No reason given
We were travelling for a wedding and missed over 24 hours of celebrations because of this flight disruption, including one night at our accommodation. I have included the Uber taxi as an expense incurred solely due to this flight disruption: we were due to be collected by friends from the airport but because the wedding had already begun we had to get an Uber straight to the venue. What time did you arrive at your final destination? Over 24 hours later. What did the airline tell you, and when? First we were told it was delayed, so we spent 3 hours onto customer service trying to get booked onto a new connecting flight. After that ordeal, we found out that the whole flight was cancelled with no explanation and at too short notice to get on any other suitable flight to the US from Dublin. What care did the airline provide, if any? Terrible customer service of very little help - in total we spent over 7 hours onto them to try to rebook suitable flights, with both of us losing a whole day that we could have worked (another expense incurred). How did the incident inconvenience you? Hugely - we missed out on 24 hours of a close friend's wedding and ended up having only 2 full days in the US before having to travel back. Did you miss an event or lose money? Yes we missed a wedding and lost money on accommodation, bus expenses, taxis and by not being able to work (this would have been possible with a longer notice period of delay and more efficient customer service).- Dublin-Fort Myers
- Economy
No reason given
We were contacted by klm one day before flying back to Stockholm and they wanted to change flights because the flight we were going on was full. They wanted to change flights to a later day but we could not fly at a later date. At last they find an earlier flight for us . We agreed to change flights when we were offered a compensation for the change- Bristol-Stockholm
- Economy
No reason given
KLM called the day before departure from Bristol to Stockholm and wanted us to change flight because the flight was full. And they wanted to change to a later date . But after some conversation we found earlier flight home. We agreed to change flights when we were promised compensation.- Bristol-Stockholm
- Economy
Technical problems
Hi , I had an early morning connecting KLM/Airfrance flight from Luxembourg via Amsterdam to Lyon however, the flight was delayed. We were made to board the plane and after sitting for over 1.5 hours , we were asked to deboard. After that we were asked to reschedule the flight ourselves by going to customer service center. The first available flight for earliest arrival to Lyon was after after nine hours. And even that flight was delayed by another one hour . It was a long day of stress and exhaustion. I arrived to hotel in Lyon at 11pm in the night. I missed a very important work event due to this delay which my entire leadership was attending .- Luxemburg-Lyon
- Economy
- Aberdeen-Schonefeld
- Economy
Problems at airport
Flight was cancelled around 8PM BST. KLM first checked me in on flight on Friday 9th Aug. (24hrs later). Then it took me 3 hours to cancelled flights they checked me in. The reason was that alternative flights were Lufthansa and LOT Polish Airlines. I had to call each airline individually by myself and cancel check-in made by KLM. Once I managed to cancel check in and after consultation with KLM they offered me flight MAN-AMS-WAW. Finally, arrival was more than 4 hours (almost 5). I lost all day and had to reschedule number of important calls with my customer.- Birmingham-Warsaw
- Economy
No reason given
New flight schedule provided by airline for 24 hours after planned departure. Arrival to destination delayed by 1 day. Holiday plans affected and length of travel shortened by 1 day.- Brussels-Panama City
- Economy
- Successful claim
Technical problems
My flight was leaving from Dusseldorf to Amsterdam. At 6AM, around 23PM I got a email about the delay and they told me my new flight are leaving from Frankfurt which is 3 hours away from Dusseldorf in the middle on the night.- Duesseldorf-Port-of-spain
- Economy
Technical problems
The airline is refusing to colaborate. I was not allowed a check in bag due to late check ins and I did pay for it. After numerous delays and more than 24hrs they finally got me into a flight. I was treat with the utmost disrespect by KLM.- Port-of-spain-Duesseldorf
- Economy
No reason given
My first flight was delayed, so I missed my connection and was rebooked onto the next available flight the next day. This meant I had to stay in transit over night.- Manchester-Hannover
- Economy
No reason given
The delays was not only very time consuming, but also made oss thirsty, hungy and tired. Espacially since the Air conditioning didn't work in one aircraft, where we were told to wait. Every inconvenience and all of the delays made me and my friends arrive a lot later than we should have. This made it difficult as well for our ride home because he had to stay awake much longer and try to be reachable. Some of us had to do this the day after and was very tired.- Malaga-Stockholm
- Economy
- Successful claim
No reason given
We were stuck in the plane for 2 hours without AC. After more than an hour they let us sit in the bridge where you board the plane but not go to the gate, it was hot in there too. First They didnβt have water to give us when it was so warm in there but after one hour they came with small bottles. My friends bagage even got lost when we finally came home. We should have lifted 20:55 but lifted three hours late or maybe even more.- Malaga-Stockholm
- Economy
- Successful claim
No reason given
Return leg of round-trip Athens-Amsterdam for family of 4. Checked-in 24hrs before flight ( attached ), got message- Athens-Amsterdam
- Economy
- Successful claim
No reason given
Flight was cancelled 12 hour before we was about to fly, meaning the passenger Macauley winder was un able to fly anymore- Manchester-Amsterdam
- Economy
No reason given
I received a email about flights cancellation but didn't get a any information for 2 hours, they i received email about changing flights. It wasn't great but I took it. It is too long flight and I spend extra 4 hours in Palanga.- Aberdeen-Riga
- Economy
Technical problems
We went through the hardest travel day we have ever experienced. It was meant to be an easy short day of travel since I had my cat with me as we are moving to Berlin. The night before our 5:55am flight with KLM we were informed that it had been cancelled because of "technical problems" so obviously we immediately called the airline and rebooked our flight, with the cat, for another KLM flight at 8:55am. We got to the airport with more than enough time and we were sent to the "priority desk" after waiting for over half an hour we asked for help and then after being moved to another desk were told that our flight had been cancelled AGAIN. After waiting for another 20min we were told that we had to take another flight at 11:30am with Lufthansa instead, meaning we had to wait in the airport, with my animal stuck in a carry case for more than 4hrs. We had to buy ourselves food because we had not planned to be in the airport for this long and the stress was insanely high. After we finally got to Frankfurt we went to find our next gate with a layover we were told would be an hour to find that our flight was not on the board. We went to a service desk and we're told that our flight had been cancelled AGAIN. We were even told that Lufthansa had THREE flights cancelled that day and that we would have to wait until 8:30pm until the next flight. At this point my cat was extremely stressed out, I cried my eyes out because of how horrible this experience was becoming and how worried I was for my animal. Again we had to buy more food for obvious reasons and the day was absolutely ruined. This journey should have taken AT MOST 6 hours. It took nearly 16hrs to get to where we were staying. My animal was absolutely distraught and in bad health and so were we. KLM and Lufthansa are meant to be high quality airlines, with GOOD names to stand by. I was utterly shocked at the debacle that ensued.- Manchester-Schonefeld
- Economy
- Successful claim
Technical problems
First flight at 5:55 am on August 1st was canceled with KLM. We were rebooted to another KLM flight at 8:55 am. This flight was canceled too. Then we walked for hours to be rebooted to a Lufthansa at 11:30 am (flight LH 0943) to frankfurt. Then in frankfurt pur connecting flight was also canceled. We waited for many hours in the frankfurt air port to be rescheduled to Berlin. Eventually we boarded flight LH 0200 to Berlin at 20:30. It took us more then 16 hours to get to Berlin. We were traveling with our cat. It was very traumatic. We had to spend lots on food. My girlfriend had to pay for her bags and her cat twice. We have not been refunded for anything. We missed out on tours and appointments that we had to pay for. This day was hell on earth.- Manchester-Schonefeld
- Economy
- Successful claim
No reason given
I was supposed to travel with KLM on 02/08/2025 from Rome (FCO) at 12:45 and arrive in Amsterdam at 16:50, then from Amsterdam to Birmingham. The flight was delayed by 20 minutes. About 2 hours later, the flight was cancelled. I was then advised that I would be travelling with my daughter on Air France instead at 18:25. Before the flight was cancelled, I received a text message on Friday, 01/08/2025, that the connecting flight was full, and that I could proceed to the check-in desk to hand in my hand baggage for free, which I did. In that bag I had my laptop, my medications, as I suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis. I take daily medication for all those conditions. Unfortunately, today I did not take any medicine, and this is causing emotional trauma, as it is the weekend, I am unable to see my doctor. In the oversized baggage, there were three pairs of trainers, clothes, and toiletries. I have been given a form to fill out on my arrival at Birmingham airport at 22:39, and I have been told that the baggage will be brought to my address today. But since then, I have not heard from them. The only thing I received today is a reference number from Air France. (ref: BHXAF13540).- Rome-Birmingham
- Economy
No reason given
uploaded ticket again since site wouldn't allow to continue with out something uploaded ......We have received nothing not even a phone call. A email basically saying KLM is busy and will get back when they can. An automated response and nothing else................................................................................................................................ want to start by saying I held off on immediately contacting due to being so frustrated. As an adult in hospitality for over 15 years I know yelling and being rude is not the way to handle things, unfortunately I cannot say the same for KLM Staff through the whole process. Everything about baggage was a complete disaster. Weβve traveled to numerous places internationally and have never experienced even 20% of what occurred with this airline. In addition, we were charged twice for luggage. The way there and the way back total $300 USD, when luggage for Military is free 5-7 bags depending on airline. I had to ask Arrival Services well over 10 times for a number to contact about my luggage & lost phone. Phone alone costs $500 USD to replace. KLM Employee continued to refuse to give me the number, just handed a piece of paper and told us once complete site will email us a contact number. I was asking for this number due to sites always failing and having issues. Screaming at customers, being rude, throwing hands up, shaking head, leaving workstations and just not doing their jobs is no way to handle anything, completely unacceptable. It was not only my family and I that were treated in this manner, but it was also everyone KLM staff spoke to. Not one KLM employee we met was even decent let alone kind or showed any customer service skills. All this chaos and not one employee from management or higher up to show face or speak to anyone. We had to get uber with a car seat due to luggage not arriving totaling $388.02 kr. Luggage arrived 24 hours later. The military bag is damaged, and needs replaced as well totaling $450 USD. This is just the issues with baggage not the rest of the experience at check-in, gates, flight changes & etc.. Please contact me and keep me updated with steps that are being taken to resolve these issues. For all communication email Clovh91@gmail.com & Drake.veal@yahoo.com. I have yet to hear and anything back from baggage or about my phone. We contacted on site immediately & within 48hrs of flight. Their is so much more from worms in my juice that I got. We booked for same flight and they changes my 6month pregnant wife and babies flight to a complete different flight and charged us for 2 more additional flights even though we showed poof of bookings to be able to flight together after lady at gate scream at us. Also Screamed at us when we got off flight and asked for our stroller that was traveling with us and they put under neither during flight time told us if we didn't leave we where going to miss our flight and we needed to leave. We were not only ones with the stroller issue as well. So my 6month pregnant wife with baby in hand plus bags had to run to the other side of airport to make the next flight which was also delayed. Their is so much more please follow up- Rome-Stavanger
- Economy
No reason given
They give me voucher of 5 euros but I could only buy water also they put m in another flight but y arrive 5 hours later and y buy. Hotel and everything that night and Iβm arriving 5 hours layers- Brussels-Athens
- Economy
- Successful claim
No reason given
The flight from Mauritius to Paris got delayed and I missed my flight from Paris to Amsterdam due to this delay. I had to wait more than 7 hours in Paris for my flight to Amsterdam.- Mahebourg-Amsterdam
- Economy
No reason given
My flight to Amsterdam and my returning flight to Berlin have both been cancelled. While for the first flight, I got a notification in a timely manner, my flight back to Berlin was cancelled less than 30 min before departure. This resulted in my trip extending to 4+ hours at the airport.- Amsterdam-Schonefeld
- Economy
- Successful claim
No reason given
They cancelled our flight 1 hour before departure. We were never informed why was it cancelled. We got tickets for the day after with a transfer in Paris. Instead of a 1.5h flight it took Us 7 hours to get home.- Amsterdam-Vienna
- Economy
Technical problems
Because there were no more same day flights, Delta provided hotel accommodation in New York. We landed in Charlotte around 9:20 AM. Because of the delay, one night accommodation was wasted in our Savannah trip.- Schonefeld-Charlotte
- Economy
- Successful claim
Weather conditions
Flight was cancelled on the 3rd due to the flight the previous evening not arriving in Aberdeen. Flight was rescheduled to the 4th resulting in lost earnings.- Aberdeen-Atyrau
- Economy
No reason given
They said it was due to the weather so would not process my claim. They did pay back the hotel I had to book for the extra night. On the airport they were not helpful at all in providing information and help for hotels. It was also only 2 hours before the scheduled flight of December 8th they changed it to December 9th. Also letting me know by by e-mail while in the train to the airport. They gave a 15β¬ voucher for food. On Schiphol you canβt get a decent meal for 15β¬.- Amsterdam-Bordeaux
- Economy
No reason given
I have a diabetes type 1 and had some important medications in my luggage that's travelled without me- Schonefeld-Mexico City
- Economy
Problems at airport
We experienced a 3-hour delay and were not provided with any additional services such as foodβonly a small glass of water. Updates regarding the flight were also poorly communicated- Barcelona-Amsterdam
- Economy
Problems at airport
My flight on July 28 at 18:50 from Montreal to Amsterdam (Amsterdam was the layover, final destination was Stuttgart) was cancelled due to "operational constraints". I rebooked my flight to the following day, July 29 at 18:50 from Montreal to Amsterdam, the same flight path but one day later.- Montreal-Stuttgart
- Economy
- Successful claim
- Cape Town-Copenhagen
- Economy
No reason given
June 28: KL 2558 was hopelessly delayed June 28: The flight we missed to JFK was KL 643. June 29 we were rebooked on DL 47 departing 10.00AM- Heraklion-New York
- Economy
Technical problems
Flight from Newcastle to Amsterdam was delayed due to technical issues, this made me miss my connection and having to stay in Amsterdam overnight for the next flight- Newcastle-Schonefeld
- Economy
Technical problems
I got an email this morning (July 29th 2025) around 5 oβclock saying the flight from July 29th 13:05 was cancelled. They rescheduled it for the next day (July 30th at 09:40). Later today I called with them because the rescheduled flight has an overlay. The original was a direct flight which I preferred, because this is my first time flying alone. They couldnβt change it, because there are no direct flights going on the 30th.- Amsterdam-Washington
- Economy
- Successful claim
No reason given
My original flight was cancelled and I was re-booked to the next flight that day, generating a delay in my arrival of 4 hours. During my waiting time in the airport, I got lunch from a place called Leon, which resulted in food poisoning that ruined the first two days of my four-day trip.- Amsterdam-Madrid
- Economy
- Successful claim
Influence by other flights
Since I arrived late to Zurich airport, my train ride from Zurich to Spiez was also delayed. This caused me to arrive at dark to the Spiez train station and since the bus only ran every hour, I had to walk 30 minutes in the dark to my stay.- Brussels-Zurich
- Economy
Technical problems
we had already boarded the airplane. After a while they told us the window in the cockpit would not close after the pilot tried to open it. which mean we had to wait inside the airplane for 3 hours, before they decided we needed to change to a new plane. So then we had to wait 1 hour more for the new plane.- Kristiansand-Houston
- Economy
- Successful claim
Influence by other flights
because I lost my connection in Amsterdam I only arrived to Norwich at 22:40 and at that time it was not possible to pick my rental car because it was closed and needed to take a taxy to Ipswich for a meeting next day in early morning.- Nuernberg-Norwich
- Economy
Technical problems
Since there were no same day flights available, we were provided with hotel stay in New York. We arrived at CLT airport on June 28, 2025 9:20 AM. Because of the delay, 1 day accommodation in our Savanah Georgia trip was wasted.- Schonefeld-Charlotte
- Economy


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