KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is to start a new daily service between Cork Airport and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport from the end of March.

The new Cork-Amsterdam route will be operated by KLM subsidiary, KLM Cityhopper using Embraer 175 and Embraer 190 aircraft, depending on the day of the week.

It is expected to add another 41,000 seats from Cork Airport for the busy summer season.

The new route is the latest in the Air France-KLM group's expansion in Munster.

Having first launched the Cork-Paris Charles de Gaulle route in May 2018, Air France announced last month that they will operate twice daily for summer 2020.

The KLM launch means that the group will offer a combined three frequencies and up to 113,000 seats from Cork Airport for the summer season.

"KLM is a fabulous airline and we're really thrilled to welcome them to Cork Airport," commented Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director at Cork Airport.

He said that KLM is part of the Air France KLM group, both parts of which are expanding from Cork next year.

"These new flights will connect directly into the KLM network in Amsterdam offering great prices and great long haul options direct from Cork Airport," Mr MacCarthy said.

"We expect tourism and the business community throughout the South of Ireland will see the benefits of this new service operated by crisp blue Embraer KLM aircraft from next summer," he added.