KLM to end direct Sudan flights March 31

Dutch airline KLM said on Tuesday it is ending direct flights between Amsterdam and the Sudanese capital Khartoum, citing rising costs. The move will also mean an end to KLM's connecting service from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. KLM will stop its thrice-weekly Amsterdam-Khartoum-Addis route on March 31, Dick Van Nieuwenhuyzen, the airline's country manager for Sudan and Ethiopia, told AFP. "The line is not making a profit and the costs are rising faster than the income," he said. The decision will leave only one European carrier, the German airline Lufthansa, with direct flights between Sudan and the continent.