At the Dutch airline KLM, a last-minute agreement averted a pilot strike that could have taken place from September 25, 2023. The VNV union and management were able to reach a compromise late on Sunday evening.

There has been a tense atmosphere between the employer and the pilots' union for several months. The employees' demands included, among other things, a new collective agreement that provides for higher pay. For a long time it looked as if an agreement was a long way off and could escalate in the form of a strike.

But that didn't happen because both VNV and KLM confirmed that a compromise had been found. The union now wants to present the key points paper, which, among other things, provides for higher salaries for pilots, to its members for a vote. The new collective agreement will be valid retroactively from March 2, 2023 until February 28, 2025.

On average, salaries should increase by 5,5 percent per year. It was also agreed that the pilots should receive a one-off payment of two percent. This is intended to compensate for financial disadvantages that arose after the old collective agreement expired at the end of March 2023.

It is also noteworthy that it was taken into account that KLM could use fewer pilots on long-haul flights in the future. However, this should not yet lead to the single-pilot operation that is required by some carriers. It's just a matter of having three pilots on board instead of four on certain long-haul routes in the future. Both VNV and KLM emphasized in a joint statement that flight safety would always remain their top priority.