MANCHESTER, England, December 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ —

The route development consultancy Airport Strategy and Marketing (ASM) has worked with the Colombian city of Cartagena to secure its only direct route to Europe.

Today (6 December) KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has announced that it will introduce flights from Amsterdam to Cartagena’s Rafael Núñez International Airport in March 2017. It will be the first time that Cartagena has had a non-stop link to Europe in ten years.

ASM has been working closely with airport operator Sociedad Aeroportuaria de la Costa (SACSA) and Cartagena Tourism for a number of years to gain a European route. The strategic advice, traffic forecasting and business case development support from ASM culminated in KLM Royal Dutch Airlines’ decision to launch a thrice weekly Amsterdam service which will be operated by a Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

ASM consultant Omar Hashmi said : “ASM forecasts and market analytics have been pivotal in the decision to launch the Amsterdam to Cartagena route. We expect the increase in the number of European arrivals to Cartagena to stimulate tourism and this will have a significant impact on the local economy. We look forward to working with KLM to make the route a success.”

Maria Claudia Gedeon, corporate affairs manager at SACSA, said: “We are very excited about this new commercial route to Amsterdam which will be our only direct connection with Europe. The expertise of ASM on the market, route forecasting and what airlines require has been greatly appreciated in delivering this new route to Cartagena.”

ASM has also played an important role in delivering another three international air services to Cartagena in the past few years – JetBlue Airways from Fort Lauderdale, Delta Air Lines from Atlanta and most recently LATAM Airlines to Lima, Peru, which launches in January 2017.

More information is available about ASM at: https://www.asm-global.com/