KLM picked up 278 stranded Ukrainian vacationers in the Dominican Republic to fly them to Amsterdam for free.
On Friday 4 March 2022 in the evening, an empty KLM Airbus 330-300 flew from Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic on flight number KL9865, after repairs.
After completing the repairs in Port of Spain, the airplane would have flown empty directly back to Amsterdam, Holland. Airline executives decided to instead help stranded Ukrainian tourists in the DR by flying them back to Europe for free and by assisting them to get home from there.
The plane landed at Amsterdam Schiphol on Saturday at 12:20 as flight KL9866. Most of the Ukrainian passengers continued on to Poland in the coming days and from there to Ukraine as possible.
It is estimated that upwards of 2,000 tourists from Ukraine and 15,000 Russians are still stuck in the Dominican Republic.
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Aviation 24
10 March 2022