Why is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol building a temporary departure hall?
More and more passengers are flying from Schiphol to European Schengen countries – last year saw an increase of some 17% compared to the year before. As a result, things are getting ever busier at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. There are various reasons for this, including strong economic growth, low oil prices (which make flying cheaper) and the growing popularity of European destinations. Out of an expected ten million passengers heading to a Schengen destination each year, we will soon be receiving around two million in the temporary departure hall.
The airlines
It has now been announced which airlines will be taking up residence in the temporary departure hall with their check-in desks: KLM, Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines. So if you are flying to a Schengen destination with one of these airlines, then you might be travelling via the temporary departure hall. Once you have checked in and passed through security control, you walk directly from the hall to Pier B or Pier C. These are the piers from which the Schengen flights of these airlines will mostly depart.
‘Check-in row 1A’
The new hall is a complete departure hall with all the features and facilities you’d expect, but nonetheless this hall is not getting its own name. The hall is simply part of the current Departure Hall 1. You enter through Departure Hall 1 and walk through a passageway into the temporary departure hall. So it has no name and doesn’t have its own entrance either! The check-in row in the new hall is the only thing getting a new number: Check-in row 1A. The yellow signs show the route from Departure Hall 1 to this new check-in row.
Finishing touches
Before the big day arrives, however, we’ll have to keep working around the clock to get everything completed. As you can see, a huge amount of work has already been done. Construction is on schedule. The hall itself is up, the passageway to Departure Hall 1 has been built, the electricity network has been installed and the baggage belts are ready to roll. The coming month will be devoted mostly to furnishing and testing. With a workforce of around 100 people, we’ll be working continually to ensure that we can welcome the first passengers on Tuesday 4 April.
