Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Early years

Before 1852, the entire polder of Haarlemmermeer in which the airport lies was a large lake with some shallow areas. There are multiple stories of how the place got its name. The most popular story is that in the shallow waters, sudden violent storms could claim many ships. Winds were particularly strong in the Schiphol area since the prevailing wind direction is from the southwest, and Schiphol lies in the northeastern corner of the lake. In English, schiphol translates to 'ship hole', a reference to many ships supposedly lost in the lake. When the lake was reclaimed, however, no shipwrecks were found. Another possible origin of the name is the word scheepshaal. A scheepshaal is a ditch^{[clarification needed]} or small canal in which ships would be towed from one lake to another. A third explanation would be that the name is derived from the words schip hol. This is a low-lying area of land (hol) from where wood would be obtained to build ships.^[18]

After the lake was dredged in the mid-1800s, a fortification named Fort Schiphol was built in the area, which was part of the Stelling van Amsterdam defence works.^[19]

Schiphol opened on 16 September 1916 as a military airbase, with a few barracks and a field serving as a platform^{[clarification needed]} and runways. When civil aircraft started to use the field (17 December 1920), it was often called Schiphol-les-bains. The Fokker aircraft manufacturer started a factory near Schiphol airport in 1919.^[20] The end of the First World War also saw the beginning of civilian use of Schiphol Airport and the airport eventually lost its military role completely.^{[citation needed]}

By 1940, Schiphol had four asphalt runways at 45-degree angles, all 1,020 m (3,350 ft) or less. One was extended to become today's runway 04/22; two others crossed that runway at 52.312°N 4.800°E / 52.312; 4.800. The airport was captured by the German military that same year and renamed Fliegerhorst Schiphol. A large number of anti-aircraft defences were installed in the vicinity of the airport, and fake decoy airfields were constructed in the vicinity near Bennebroek, Vijfhuizen, and Vogelenzang to try to confuse Allied bombers. A railway connection was also built. Despite these defences, the airfield was still bombed intensively; an exceptionally heavy attack on 13 December 1943 caused so much damage that it rendered the airfield unusable as an active base. After that, it served only as an emergency landing field until the Germans themselves destroyed the remnants of the airfield at the start of Operation Market Garden. At the end of the war, the airfield was quickly restored: the first aircraft, a Douglas DC-3, landed on 8 July 1945.^[21]

A new terminal building was completed in 1949, and it was decided that Schiphol was to become the primary airport of the Netherlands. The expansion came at the cost of a small town called Rijk, which was demolished to make room for the growing airport. The name of this town is remembered in the name of the present Schiphol-Rijk industrial estate. In 1967, Schiphol expanded even further with a new terminal area at its current location. Most of the 1967 terminal is still in use today (Departure Halls 1 and 2), as are parts of the original piers (now called C, D, and E). Dutch designer Benno Wissing created signage for Schiphol Airport, well known for its clear writing and thorough colour-coding; to avoid confusion, he prohibited any other signage in the shades of yellow and green used.^[22] The new terminal building replaced the older facilities once located on what is now the east side of the airport. The A-pier (now C-pier) of the airport was modified in 1970 to allow Boeing 747 aircraft to use the boarding gates. A new pier (D, now called F) opened in 1977, dedicated to handling wide-body aircraft. The first railway station at the airport was opened in 1978.^{[citation needed]}

Development since the 1990s

The construction of a new air traffic control tower was completed in 1991, as the existing tower could no longer oversee all of the airport, as it was further expanded. Departure Hall 3 was added to the terminal in 1993, as was another pier, G-pier. New wayfinding signage was designed that year as well by Paul Mijksenaar.^[23] A sixth runway was completed at quite some distance west of the rest of airport in 2003 and was nicknamed the Polderbaan, with the connecting taxiway bridge crossing the A5 motorway. The distance of this runway means that taxiing to and from this runway can take between 10 and 20 minutes. It also required the construction of an additional air traffic control tower, as the primary tower is too far away to oversee this part of the airfield.^[24]

On 25 February 2005, a diamond robbery occurred at Schiphol's cargo terminal. The thieves used a stolen KLM van to gain airside access. The estimated value of the stones was around 75 million euros, making it one of the largest diamond robberies ever.^[25]

Later in 2005, a fire broke out at the airport's detention centre, killing 11 people and injuring 15. The complex was holding 350 people at the time of the incident.^[26] Results from the investigation almost one year later showed that fire safety precautions were not in force. A national outrage resulted in the resignation of Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner (CDA) and Mayor Hartog of Haarlemmermeer. Spatial Planning Minister Sybilla Dekker (VVD) resigned as well because she bore responsibility for safety failings cited in the report.^[27]

In the summer of 2022, the airport suffered the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on commercial air transport. It experienced extraordinarily long delays and a large number of cancelled flights, which led to a recession of air traffic and subsequently to a shortage of security staff and a walkout of baggage handlers.^[28] Queues for security check-in were reported to last for 5 hours, and many passengers missed their flights.^[29] The CEO of Schiphol Group, Dick Benschop, was forced to resign.^[30]

In 2024, Schiphol saw an 8% increase in passenger traffic^[15] and an 8.2% rise in cargo volume compared to 2023.^[31] Also in 2024, Royal Schiphol Group announced a €6 billion infrastructure investment plan, the largest in the airport's history.^[32] Planned improvements included the renovations of Pier C, Lounge 1, the baggage system, and passenger walkways, lifts, and bridges.^[33] The Lounge 1 expansion was completed by November 2024, with 5,000 square meters of additional passenger space and a new plaza.^[34]

Terminal

Schiphol uses a one-terminal concept, where all facilities are located under a single roof, radiating from the central plaza, Schiphol Plaza. The terminal is divided into three sections or halls designated 1, 2, and 3. The piers and concourses of each hall are connected so that it is possible, on both sides of security or border inspection, to walk between piers and halls, although border control separates Schengen from non-Schengen areas. The exception to this is the low-cost pier M: once airside (past security), passengers cannot access any other areas.^{[citation needed]}

Schiphol Airport has approximately 223^[35] boarding gates including eighteen double jetway gates used for widebody aircraft. The airport adopted a distinctive design, with the second jetway extending over the aircraft wing, hanging from a steel cantilever structure. Gradual refurbishments have seen these jetways replaced with a more conventional layout, with the last two taken out of use in November 2024. Three gates have been modified to accommodate the Airbus A380. Emirates was the first airline to fly the A380 to Schiphol in August 2012, deploying the aircraft on its double daily Dubai–Amsterdam service.^[36] China Southern Airlines also used the A380 on its Beijing–Amsterdam route before removing the type from service at the end of 2022, leaving Emirates as the sole A380 operator at Schiphol Airport as of 2023.^[37]

The 1st floor^[h] hosts the luggage check-in lines, many of them automated, as well as various duty-free refund booths. Available seating is limited on this floor.^{[citation needed]}

Notable public artworks in the airport include the Schiphol clock by Maarten Baas, in which a man behind a translucent screen appears to paint the minutes of an analog clock by hand.^[38]

Future expansions

Tower

The Schiphol air traffic control tower, with a height of 101 m (331 ft), was the tallest in the world when constructed in 1991. Schiphol is geographically one of the world's lowest major commercial airports. The entire airport is below sea level. The lowest point sits at 3.4 m (11 ft) below sea level: 1.4 m (4.5 ft) below the Dutch Normaal Amsterdams Peil (NAP). The runways are around 3 m (9.8 ft) below NAP.^[65][66] It is one of only eleven airports worldwide below sea level, the fifth lowest with scheduled flights, and the third lowest with international flights.^{[citation needed]}

Runways

Schiphol has six runways, one of which is used mainly by general aviation.^[7] The airport covers a total area of 2,787 hectares (6,887 acres) of land.^[3]

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Amsterdam:

Operational peaks

Typical peak moments^{[clarification needed]} at Schiphol Airport are between 09:00 and 11:00, and between 13:00 and 15:00 for departures, with up to 58 departures between 14:00 and 15:00 on a typical weekday (a departure nearly every minute).^[170] The peak moment for arrivals is between 08:00 and 09:00 (with up to 52 arrivals on a weekday).^[171]

Map of North American destinations

Philadelphia Atlanta Detroit Minneapolis/St. Paul Boston New York Newark Washington Chicago Orlando Dallas Miami Tampa Houston Austin Salt Lake City Los Angeles San Diego Las Vegas San Francisco Portland Seattle/Tacoma Toronto Montréal Halifax Vancouver Edmonton Calgary Mexico City Cancún San José Panama City Montego Bay Punta Cana Sint Maarten Barbados Port of Spain Red = Year-round destination Green = Seasonal destination Blue = Future destination

Map of South American destinations

Buenos Aires São Paulo Rio de Janeiro Santiago de Chile Bogotá Cartagena Quito Guayaquil Georgetown Lima Paramaribo Aruba Bonaire Curaçao Red = Year-round destination Green = Seasonal destination Blue = Future destination

Rail

The Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), the national Dutch train operator, has a major passenger railway station directly underneath the passenger terminal complex that offers transportation 24 hours a day into the four major cities Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam. There are efficient and often direct services to many other cities in the country.^[195] There are intercity connections to Almere, Lelystad, Amsterdam Centraal, Utrecht Centraal, both The Hague Centraal and The Hague HS, Rotterdam Centraal, Eindhoven Centraal, 's-Hertogenbosch, Leeuwarden, Groningen, Amersfoort Centraal, Apeldoorn, Deventer, Enschede, Arnhem Centraal, Nijmegen and Venlo. Schiphol is also a stop for the Eurostar international high-speed train (formerly known as Thalys), connecting the airport directly to Antwerp, Brussels and Paris Gare du Nord, as well as to Bourg St Maurice (winter) and Marseille (summer). The Intercity-Brussels (also named the "Beneluxtrein") to Antwerp and Brussels stops at the airport.^{[citation needed]}

Bus

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is also easily accessible by bus, as many services call or terminate at the bus station located in front of the terminal building.^[196]

EVA Air provides private bus services from Schiphol to Belgium for its Belgium-based customers. The service goes to Saint-Gilles, Brussels (near the Brussels-South (Midi) railway station) and Berchem, Antwerp (near Antwerp-Berchem bus station). The service is operated by Reizen Lauwers NV on behalf of EVA Air.^[197]

KLM also runs bus services from Schiphol to Maastricht railway station via Eindhoven Airport and Maastricht Airport^[198]

Road

Schiphol Airport can easily be reached by car via the A4 and A9 motorways.^[199]

While most roads leading to the airport are forbidden for bicycles, it is possible to reach the airport by bicycle via bicycle paths.^{[citation needed]}