Avoid KLM

I booked a return flight with KLM from Johannesburg to Mexico through Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. I confirmed before my travels that I did not require a transit visa. My flights to Mexico went according to plan, but my return flight from Mexico was cancelled by KLM due to "technical difficulties". My flight was automatically rebooked by KLM without consulting with me. I was rebooked through Madrid, Spain. When I arrived in Madrid, I was told that I could not proceed to my departure terminal and I was detained in the international transit area until a senior immigration official was available to assess my situation. The immigration official explained to me that I cannot transit through 2 Schengen countries without a visa. I was not aware of this fact and KLM did not consider this when rebooking my flight and changing my original route. My original route was Mexico > Amsterdam > Johhannesburg, and I was not supposed to go through Spain. I was given only one option by immigration and that was to return to South Africa without transiting through a second Schengen country. I could not continue to Amsterdam and then Johannesburg as re-booked by KLM. I had to rebook new air tickets with Turkish Airlines and return to Johannesburg via Istanbul. I had to spend 12 hours in the international transit area at Madrid airport and another 12 hours at Istanbul airport. My original booking was business class, but I had to fly back economy class, since there were no business class tickets available. I could not claim my baggage at Madrid and check it in for my new flight, since I could not leave the transit area. I reached out to KLM and was repeatedly told to contact the transfer desk or check in counter. I had to explain numerous times that these options were not available to me in the area that I was confined to. As a result, my luggage was missing from 30 November to 11 December. I had a reservation at Mercure Hotel Schiphol Terminal for 28 November 2025 and was charged a no-show fee, which was the full booking price. I also had to book a new hotel at Istanbul airport for 29 November 2025. Both hotels are situated inside the international transit area.

I filed a compensation claim with KLM and received the following formal reply: "The European Court of Justice has ruled that “two or more directly connecting flights booked as a single unit and subject of a single reservation must be considered as a single flight for the purpose of determining any entitlement to compensation under EC Regulation 261/2004.” Therefore, the right to compensation under EC Regulation 261/2004 does not apply to your case."