Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the principal international airport of the Netherlands and a major European connecting hub. It lies in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, south-west of Amsterdam, and uses the IATA code AMS and ICAO location indicator EHAM. In 2025 the airport handled 68.8 million passengers and 477,552 air transport movements.[1][2]
Location and role
Schiphol occupies 2,787 hectares in the Haarlemmermeer polder, land reclaimed when the former Haarlemmer Lake was drained in 1852. Much of the airport is more than four metres below sea level. It sits within the Randstad urban region and is linked directly to Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Utrecht and other Dutch cities by rail and motorway.[3][4]
The airport is the home base of KLM and one of the principal hubs used by the Air France–KLM network and SkyTeam alliance. Its schedule combines short-haul feeder services with intercontinental passenger flights and a substantial cargo operation. In 2025 Schiphol served 300 direct passenger or cargo destinations on five continents and ranked fourth among European airports by passenger volume and third by air transport movements.[1][5]
Schiphol's hub function depends on transfers within one connected terminal complex. Passengers can move between departure lounges and piers without travelling between separate terminal buildings, although Schengen and non-Schengen flows, passport control and security requirements determine the available route.[6]
Ownership, operation and regulation
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is operated within Royal Schiphol Group N.V. The Dutch State owns 69.77 per cent of the issued A shares, the Municipality of Amsterdam 20.03 per cent and the Municipality of Rotterdam 2.20 per cent. A further 8 per cent is held as treasury shares following the end of the former HubLink cross-shareholding with Groupe ADP.[7]
The airport operator provides the terminal, airfield and commercial infrastructure. Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL) manages air traffic and publishes the Netherlands Aeronautical Information Publication. Current runway characteristics, procedures and temporary limitations must be checked in the AIP and NOTAM system rather than inferred from general airport pages.[8][9]
History
Schiphol began as a military airfield on reclaimed farmland. The first military aircraft landed on 19 September 1916, and the site expanded during the First World War. Civil aviation began to develop after the war; on 17 May 1920 the first KLM service arrived from London using a de Havilland DH.16.[10][3]
The Municipality of Amsterdam took over the airport from the Ministry of War in 1926 and improved it for the 1928 Olympic Games. New roads, a concrete apron, a terminal and a control tower replaced the primitive facilities of the waterlogged grass airfield. A paved runway system followed in the late 1930s.[10]
Schiphol was bombed after the German invasion in May 1940 and then used as a Luftwaffe base. Allied bombing caused severe damage in 1943, and German demolition units destroyed the remaining runways in 1944. In November 1945 the Dutch government designated the rebuilt Schiphol as the country's principal international airport.[10]
Airport manager Jan Dellaert developed a post-war plan in which runways radiated around a central passenger terminal. This tangential layout allowed runway selection to respond to the Netherlands' changing winds while keeping the piers near a shared terminal core. A new concrete runway was added for the jet era in 1958.[10][3]
Royal Schiphol Group's predecessor company was established in 1958 with national and municipal shareholders. Queen Juliana opened the new Schiphol-Centre terminal in April 1967, after which the original airport area became known as Schiphol-Oost. Successive additions enlarged the central complex rather than creating independent terminals.[11][10]
Schiphol Plaza opened in 1995 as the landside commercial and transport concourse. The Polderbaan, runway 18R/36L, entered service in 2003 as the fifth main runway. It lies west of the central airfield and was routed to concentrate more movements over less densely populated areas, although its distance from the terminal produces comparatively long taxi times.[10][12]
In 2016, the airport's centenary year, Schiphol Group received the right to use the honorary designation Royal. The airport has continued to renew baggage, security, pier and public-transport facilities while operating within environmental, noise and movement constraints.[11][9]
Terminal and piers
Schiphol uses one integrated terminal organised around Schiphol Plaza, three principal departure halls and a connected system of departure lounges and piers. The terminal is a shared building used by multiple airlines; Schiphol Plaza links the arrival and departure halls and provides access to the railway station below.[6][13]
Departure Hall 1 primarily supports Schengen operations. Departure Hall 2 handles a mixture of Schengen and non-Schengen flights and is used extensively by KLM and its partners. Departure Hall 3 principally supports non-Schengen and other airline operations. Actual check-in allocations depend on airline, handling company, baggage capacity and day-of-operation planning, so passengers should use current flight information.[14]
The airport describes seven operational piers within the single-terminal system. Several piers can serve different traffic flows on separate levels, while Pier D has both Schengen and non-Schengen gate areas. This arrangement supports short connections but also creates long walking distances between remote gates.[15][6]
Runways and airfield
Schiphol has five long runways used for international air traffic and one shorter runway used mainly for general aviation, business aircraft and helicopters. The May 2026 Netherlands AIP and Schiphol's published runway material give the following physical dimensions:[8][12]
| Runway | Dutch name | Dimensions | Principal role |
| 18R/36L | Polderbaan | 3,800 m × 60 m | Longest runway; west of the terminal |
| 06/24 | Kaagbaan | 3,439 m × 45 m | Main south-west/north-east runway |
| 09/27 | Buitenveldertbaan | 3,453 m × 45 m | East-west runway |
| 18L/36R | Aalsmeerbaan | 3,400 m × 45 m | Eastern north-south runway |
| 18C/36C | Zwanenburgbaan | 3,300 m × 45 m | Central north-south runway |
| 04/22 | Schiphol-Oostbaan | 2,020 m × 45 m | Mainly general and business aviation |
Airport public information often rounds the Kaagbaan to 3,500 metres and the Oostbaan to slightly over 2,000 metres. The table uses the physical lengths published in the AIP; declared take-off and landing distances vary by direction and intersection and must not be replaced with these physical figures.[8][12]
Runway choice depends on wind, visibility, runway condition, maintenance, environmental rules and traffic peaks. Normally one arrival and one departure runway are active, with a third or fourth runway used during peaks. Night operations are generally concentrated on the Polderbaan and Kaagbaan, subject to safety and availability.[9][16]
Airlines, network and cargo
KLM and its regional subsidiary KLM Cityhopper provide the core connecting bank structure. Other SkyTeam airlines reinforce the hub, while independent network, low-cost, leisure and cargo operators provide additional European and long-haul services. Airline and route portfolios change seasonally and should be taken from current operational directories.[5][1]
In 2025, 48.9 million passengers travelled on European services and 19.9 million on intercontinental services. The airport handled 1.43 million tonnes of cargo, 4 per cent less than in 2024. Full freighters carried 56 per cent of the cargo volume and passenger-aircraft belly holds carried 44 per cent; 15,348 all-cargo flights operated during the year.[2]
The 477,552 air transport movements recorded in 2025 were 0.8 per cent higher than in 2024. Schiphol's traffic totals count commercial air transport movements separately from local or other aircraft activity, so they should not be mixed with broader movement datasets without checking definitions.[1]
Ground transport
Schiphol Airport railway station is directly beneath Schiphol Plaza. Frequent trains link the airport with Amsterdam Centraal in about 14–17 minutes and provide direct services to Utrecht, Leiden, The Hague, Delft and Rotterdam. International services and connections also use the station.[13]
The bus station is immediately outside Schiphol Plaza and serves local, regional, hotel and night routes. Roads around the terminal connect with the A4 motorway and the wider Randstad network. Taxi, car-hire, cycle and parking facilities complement public transport.[17][4]
Work on the Multimodal Hub Schiphol programme is intended to increase capacity and improve circulation between the station platforms, bus station, Plaza and terminal. It is an active infrastructure programme and should not be represented as wholly complete.[18]
Traffic statistics
| Year | Passengers | Air transport movements | Cargo |
| 2024 | 66.8 million | 473,815 | 1.49 million tonnes |
| 2025 | 68.8 million | 477,552 | 1.43 million tonnes |
Passenger traffic increased by 2.9 per cent in 2025, while movements rose by about 0.8 per cent and cargo volume declined by 4 per cent. The 2025 passenger total remained below the 71.7 million recorded in 2019.[1][2]
Related pages
Sources
Annual Traffic Review 2025 — Royal Schiphol Group, accessed 29 August 2026
Schiphol 2025 annual results — Royal Schiphol Group, 2026
Airport history — Royal Schiphol Group, accessed 29 August 2026
Schiphol timeline — Royal Schiphol Group, accessed 29 August 2026
Shareholder information — Royal Schiphol Group, accessed 29 August 2026
AIP Netherlands: EHAM Amsterdam Airport Schiphol — Air Traffic Control the Netherlands, effective 14 May 2026
Flight paths and runway use — Royal Schiphol Group, accessed 29 August 2026
Airport and runway facts — Royal Schiphol Group, accessed 29 August 2026
Runway lengths and terminal area — Royal Schiphol Group, 19 May 2025
Welcome to Schiphol Guide — Royal Schiphol Group
Schiphol check-in desk allocation rules — Royal Schiphol Group
Rail hub beneath the terminal — Royal Schiphol Group, accessed 29 August 2026
Public transport to and from Schiphol — Royal Schiphol Group, accessed 29 August 2026
Multimodal Hub Schiphol — Royal Schiphol Group, accessed 29 August 2026
Image source and licence: Schiphol international arrivals concourse — Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
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