Sept 29 (Reuters) - Airline KLM will lose Air France and

Delta as customers for its ground services at Amsterdam

Schiphol airport following weeks of strikes by its ground crew,

the Dutch arm of the group Air France KLM said on

Monday.

The airlines have told KLM they are looking for an

alternative ground handling partner at Schiphol, one of Europe's

busiest airports, it said.

"This decision has immediate operational implications for

KLM, particularly for the ground services department," KLM said

in a statement.

"The financial and employment-related consequences of this

decision are currently being assessed."

Delta and Air France did not reply to requests for comment.

Large parts of KLM's Amsterdam ground crew have staged several

strikes in the past weeks to demand higher wages and better

working conditions, leading to hundreds of cancellations.

"This has played a large role in the decision by Delta and

Air France," KLM spokesperson Anoesjka Aspeslagh said.

"They have incurred millions of euros in damages and had to

let down many of their customers."

But labour union CNV said the decision by KLM's partners was

unrelated to the strike and would not change the ground crew's

resolve for action.

"This is the start of their negotiations," CNV union

spokesman Souleiman Amallah said, referring to the airlines

involved.

KLM earlier this month struck a deal with several unions,

but not with the two main ones that have continued their actions

and have announced a new and broader strike for Wednesday.

A court on Monday said that strike would only be allowed if

the unions guaranteed the flights of KLM's international

partners would be unaffected.

KLM ground services handles 17 daily incoming and outgoing

Delta flights and 12 from Air France, on a total of 380 daily

flights.