Airport Guide

History of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Now one of the world's main aviation hubs, Schiphol had a quiet start, consisting of little more than a mud strip and a few huts when it was established as a military base in 1916.

Once the First World War came to a close, the airport wasted no time in welcoming its first civilian flight, which took off in December 1920, and it hasn't looked back since.

The boom in long-distance flights brought about by the jet age saw Fokker establish a large factory close to Schipol in the 1950's, though it was the 70s and 80s which saw the greatest expansion as the airport took on the iconic snake-like shape it boasts today.

For 15 consecutive years from 1988 to 2003 Schipohl was named Best European Airport, while it has also picked up numerous awards for its infrastructure and customer service levels over the years.

Travelling to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Unlike many airports serving European capitals, notably London and Paris, travelling between Amsterdam Schiphol and the centre of the Dutch capital is not only quick but also remarkably cheap.

Sitting directly underneath the main passenger terminal is a mainline railway station, offering fast connections into Amsterdam as well as on to Rotterdam, the Hague and Utrecht, with journey times of around 20 minutes and trains departing at regular intervals throughout the day and night.

Taxi connections are also available from outside the terminal building, though these tend to be much more expensive while not being notably faster than the public transport alternatives.

Airlines Flying from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Amsterdam Schiphol currently ranks as Europe's fifth busiest airport, having handled almost 50 million passengers in 2007 alone.

With seven separate runways and direct flights to more than 260 destinations across 91 countries, the tarmac is used by dozens of different carriers of all sizes.

As would be expected, the Dutch national carrier KLM dominates the departure boards. As well as its regular shuttle services to London, Frankfurt and Paris, the airline operates dozens of long-distance routes to destinations as diverse as Abu Dhabi, Kilimanjaro, Quito, Shanghai, Tehran, Tel Aviv and Vancouver.

In comparison, British Airways only operates two services out of Amsterdam to London's main airports, while dozens of other national carriers also just offer flights to their respective capitals, including Bulgaria Air, Croatia Airlines, Japan Airlines and Kenya Airlines.

Notably, almost 35 per cent of passengers flying out of Schiphol are intercontinental travellers, with many having flown on a budget airline to Amsterdam from cities across Europe so as to take advantage of cheaper long-haul fares.