Summer measures at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

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Huge numbers of Dutch people head off on holiday in July and August. Anyone who passes through Amsterdam Airport Schiphol over the next few months will certainly notice the crowds. On average, around 200,000 people pass through the airport every day. As a result, passengers may spend longer in queues at peak times. This certainly applies on specific days in the summer holiday period.

Together with its partners, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol will be taking plenty of extra measures to ensure the smooth passage of the summer crowds through the airport. We are bringing in extra staff to ensure that everyone’s holiday gets off to the best possible start.

What measures does Schiphol take?

  • We will open three additional security lanes: This allows us to check travellers, crew and their hand luggage faster.
  • All security lanes in Departure Hall 1 will be fully manned in the period from 1 July to 31 August 2017 from 6:00 in the morning until 20:00 in the evening.
  • In the same period, we will fully deploy all security lanes of Departure Hall 2 from 6:00 to 20:00, unless we experience that this is not necessary.
  • In the past month, we have placed an additional 12 self-service passport gates. Here, EU travellers can scan their passports themselves and thus cross the border. There are now 78 of these automated border control gates at Schiphol.
  • This summer, we will employ more staff in the terminal to aid a freer flow of the crowd and to provide extra service to travellers.
  • In addition we deploy an extra 350 to 400 employees at security and flexible teams where needed.
  • Technicians will be standby to fix technical failures swiftly.
  • As of 1 July we launch the trial ‘Small Bags Only’.

How busy will it be?

Schiphol has calculated that this summer (from 8 July to 3 September inclusive) 12.4 million passengers will travel via Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

Which days are busiest?

This calendar shows the anticipated number of arriving and departing passengers each day. This is a global overview and there will naturally be peaks and troughs every day.

Welcome@schiphol

Alongside the specialist staff, Schiphol will also be bringing in office staff and a team of volunteers to help at peak times. The Welcome@schiphol team consists of several dozen former employees and other Schiphol enthusiasts. They offer visitors a warm welcome, answer their questions and help them find their way around the airport. As Airport Assistants, office employees play various roles such as baggage assistants or hosts/hostesses.

Top 5 popular destinations

111 airlines fly from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to 322 direct destinations. The most popular holiday destinations this summer are as follows:

  1. United Kingdom
  2. Spain
  3. Italy
  4. Greece
  5. Turkey

Who does what at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol?

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is rather like an ingenious system of cogs in which all the cogs depend on each other to keep things moving. Various parties have different responsibilities in the process that passengers pass through between check-in and take-off. In the busy summer months, that means intensive discussions and extra coordination. As a result, the various partners at the airport work together to ensure that all the passengers and their baggage board the aircraft on time.

The role of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol provides the infrastructure at the airport, such as the terminal, the runways and the road system. It is also responsible for the facilities and infrastructure which ensure the smooth passage of goods, passengers and their baggage: from the drop-off roads, check-in desks and baggage systems to the piers, aircraft stands and aprons. Schiphol also handles the security checks for the passengers and baggage in the terminal, although final responsibility for this lies with the Minister of Security and Justice and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee.

Innovation

With the future in mind, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is certainly not resting on its laurels. By means of digital solutions for the website and app, the airport is working hard to provide passengers with better information. This includes the publication of current waiting times at the security control. In addition, Schiphol is currently testing a new scan for hand baggage which allows passengers to leave liquids and laptops in their bag. We are also working on biometric solutions. In the future, this will allow passengers to identify themselves by means of facial recognition at various checkpoints such as the border passage and when boarding. This will improve speed and convenience for passengers at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The idea is that these applications will be introduced gradually after the trials.

28 June 2017

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