Avoid KLM airline at all costs

After 30 years of frequent air travel, KLM’s handling of flight KL597 diversion was the worst I had ever experienced.

My wife and I travelled on KL597 from AMS to CPT on Sunday 29 July 2024. Cape Town airport was closed from around 20h00 to 01h00 because of an electricity issue. Our flight was supposed to land at 21h30, so KL597 was diverted to Johannesburg. What followed was an absolute mess made by KLM. The true measure of an airline is how they react in the face of adversity. KLM truly failed. I have unfortunately been on diverted flights many times before, but it was always handled much better by other airlines. I will do all I can to avoid using KLM in future.

1. 25minutes prior to landing (~10.5 hours into the flight), the in-flight tracking system showed that the aircraft turned to Johannesburg and the ETA had increased by an hour, without a word from the pilot. Passengers started asking cabin crew for information, which they did not provide. After about 10 minutes, the pilot explained that CPT airport was experiencing power issues and that we were headed for Johannesburg instead. 2. The pilot promised that KLM would take care of us, since there was sufficient time to prepare for various outcomes. 3. We landed around 22h25. We were held in the aircraft until 01h00 with only hourly information provided by the pilot, with no water or meal service or any kind of attention by the cabin crew. We did not see them again until we departed the aircraft. We had to wait for passenger busses to disembark (they were not ready). We received NO INSTRUCTIONS about what to do once we had departed the aircraft, other than that the ground staff would take care of us. 4. Immigration control went quite smoothly. 5. Once at baggage claim, we accidentally found two small cardboard kiosks where ground staff were talking to individual passengers at a time. After standing in a large ground (no lines) for a while, KLM ground staff directed us to first retrieve our baggage. Baggage took a long time to arrive. We then entered the long queue at the kiosks at around 02h00. Still no water, no information shared with the group, etc. We didn’t even know why we were standing in this queue. The queue was slow because only 3 KLM staff were writing down passenger names against hotels. Four more staff were standing around, “managing” the situation (actually doing nothing but talk to each other). We asked them to help, but they were obtuse and rude. They simply ignored us. Clearly “not my job”. 6. The KLM flight crew left the airport directly after arrival, and did not assist any further. 7. Once we were assigned a hotel, we were directed outside in 0 deg C weather (we were all completely unprepared for this!) to queue for shuttles to the hotels. Elderly people and families with children were saying that they are unable to wait outside in the cold, but ground staff shrugged their shoulders. Still no water in sight. We decided to call an Uber. 8. When we arrived at the hotel (City Lodge), there was another long queue to contend with, and a single person at the check-in desk handling a large number of customers. No KLM ground staff supported the passengers at the hotel, so two passengers decided to help by collecting documents, and check-in details and translating for passengers. 9. The hotel informed us that they had a drinking water issue! We could not drink water from the taps, but they directed us to water at 04h00 when we received our room key. 10. On Monday 30 July we did not hear from KLM, so we tried to call the local KLM call center, without luck. Waiting times were too long. We then tried the KLM WhatsApp channel. When I eventually reached a human, this person did not understand our situation and could only tell that our flight was “delayed”. 11. By 11h00 we booked our own tickets to Cape Town on alternative flights. ONLY BY 15h40 (while we were on flights to Cape Town) did KLM contact us by email FOR THE FIRST TIME to give us information. Far too late! Contact links in the email did not work and the only option for feedback was a survey on the content of the email, not the issue at hand. KLM booked us to depart Johannesburg only at 21h30 in the evening! On the same aircraft that had been diverted. Saving them money at the cost of our time and inconvenience. We used the WhatsApp channel again, only to find the KLM representative there warning us to be on the 21h30 flight or be marked as a “no show”…with supposed consequences. 12. Subsequent communication from KLM blamed Cape Town airport for the issue, and quoted KLM crew working hours as the reason for not returning to CPT at 01h00. Interestingly, at the time, the pilot mentioned working hours as an issue, but said that we couldn’t return because CPT airport was not yet open. CPT airport opened at 01h00 for landings by aircraft such as 777s, etc.