KLM Cityhopper is celebrating its 60th anniversary today, tracing its roots to 1966 when it began as Nederlandse Luchtvaart Maatschappij and evolved into KLM’s regional feeder arm. The carrier now operates 58 aircraft, serves more than 80 destinations and runs over 350 daily flights through Amsterdam Schiphol.
KLM’s anniversary profile places the airline at the centre of its European hub-and-spoke network, linking business and regional markets into Schiphol. The brand adopted the Cityhopper name in 1976, later merged with NetherLines in 1991 and became the current KLM Cityhopper operation.
The fleet is standardised around Embraer regional jets, supporting high-frequency short-haul flying across Europe. KLM also highlights the unit as a testbed for operational initiatives, including VR pilot training and climb-efficiency software, reflecting the airline’s focus on productivity and flight operations rather than network expansion alone.