KLM Flight To Suriname Diverts To Another Country After Reports Of Sick Controllers

On October 22, 2025, a KLM Boeing 777-300ER operating flight KL713 from Amsterdam (AMS) to Paramaribo (PBM) in Suriname was forced to divert to Cayenne (CAY) in French Guiana after it was reported that there were no controllers to accept their arrival.

After descending into Suriname airspace, the aircraft leveled at 18,000 feet as they were informed there were no controllers at Suriname airport to allow them to descend further. The aircraft circled for 25 minutes before diverting next door to Cayenne. During that time, the airport authority over in Suriname was able to sort out staffing issues, allowing the KLM aircraft to depart French Guiana 80 minutes later and land in Suriname safely.

As a result of the staffing shortage, the KLM flight was delayed by about three hours. The following morning, Minister of Transport, Communication and Tourism for Suriname Albert Jubithana indicated that there were staffing issues as a result of a number of controllers calling out sick.

They have since brought in 13 trainee controllers to alleviate the situation until the matter is sorted out completely.

This is not the first time we’ve heard about ATC shortages affecting flight operations. In October, flights departing LAX were briefly paused following staffing shortages at the SoCal air traffic facility. Newark traffic was also cut pre-emptively partially due to limited manpower as well.

I can’t forget the sleepy tower controller at Ajaccio (AJA) either, which resulted in an Air Corsica flight having to circle for 18 minutes while ground personnel tried to wake up the controller. Hat tip to OMAAT for the story.

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