Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

I have used Schiphol many times before and when eventually behind customs it is a very pleasant and vibrant airport. The train connections to Amsterdam and the rest of Holland are superb and cheap. There are plenty of shops and it is easy to find directions. Be aware though that there might be queing at check-in and customs so arrive on time. Schiphol really gives you a travel experience and I always enjoy staring my holiday or business trip from this airport. If you depart from Schiphol (not connecting) you must visit the panorama deck. Best in the world. Easy to access from Terminal 1 and 2 check in desks.

Recently transited through Schipol from Edinburgh to Bangkok on KLM. The system is shambolic! The railed off lanes are supposed to allow Business Class passengers priority to go through security and to wait for boarding the onward flight. There are no KLM staff available and the airport staff misdirected me to the Economy queue. Once through security you are made to wait in an inadequately fitted cattle pen with insufficient seats and then a scum to get on board. Blame should go to both Schipol airport and to KLM neither of which seems to have any control over how this is managed.

I have used Schiphol many times over the past 30 years but as I grow older the advantages diminish. The one-terminal concept is a major selling point for this airport but the airport is too large for this concept to be viable. The last time I used Schiphol the planes landed on and took off from the Polderbarn runway and this added about 20 -30 minutes to the overall journey time. Both the incoming and return flights involved a lengthy trek to Gate E. Baggage handling was fine on this occasion but is not reliable. Since I live in Japan and use Osaka Kansai as my main airport perhaps I am biased.

I've travelled to and from Schipol a lot of times the last 2-3 years and my first impression was that it was well organized informative friendly staff and alot of things to do while waiting for a train. Now after being there a little bit too much there is a couple of things I don't like. Cleanliness in the dining areas (at least downstairs). Rats running around and when I asked for the money back for the food I had ordered the waitress just said with an unpleasant voice "its an epedemi just eat your food". Try to avoid food that is not sealed in plastic and made somewhere else.

Why is Schiphol proud of it's one-terminal-concept? It may take up to a 40 minutes walk from one gate to catch a connecting flight and last week after landing taxi-ing and docking the plane took about 30 minutes - 50% of the flying time of my flight from ZRH. The whole enterprise feels like it has grown to an unmanageable scale for those who do the job on the ground. The core business should be efficient flight and passenger handling not operating a shopping mall.

I have used AMS on numerous occasions and cannot fault it. Plenty of shops bars and cafes and well sign posted. The walk to and from D/H piers can be a bit of a pain.

On the whole quite a pleasant experience. Schipol Airport is large and spread out but sign posting is good. Ample shops and eating places and the airport seemed to be run quite efficiently. Security staff whilst very professional were a little over-zelous. I had to place my passport on a tray to be scanned. I was a bit puzzled at this. I see a previous correspondent has also commented on this.

First time I flew from HKG to AMS with CX - arrival in AMS ok after night flight long taxi to the gate. AMS has a few construction projects it seems. Very long immigration queue due to only 3 checkpoints for non-EU passports and one EU passports counter open in a dark unwelcoming area. The few open counters are not enough at all when the flights from SQ Delta and CX are arriving at the same time (and many others)! I was through quickly as have EU passport but my friend had to wait nearly 30 minutes. Baggage delivered quickly. I love the great connectivity of AMS to trains bus taxi etc. On our return flight check-in very quick and no problem but again very very long queue for passport control there were two queues only for non EU passengers and one for EU passengers - my friend was waiting 45 minutes myself 30 minutes! There were 7 counters not open and it was busy lunchtime! This is a nightmare. Airport facilities ok but nothing special compared to HKG and SIN - I even prefer FRA!

When travelling to Schengen countries Schiphol is a pretty good airport. There are plenty of facilities although shops are a little pricey. If you're flying to a country where you're required to go through passport control (gates E and above) then things get a little silly. The security check is at the gate which results in very slow boarding times and long queues. It also gives you no opportunity to buy drinking water before you board which is ridiculous before a long-haul flight. There was a vending machine but this was for Coke only.

Found this airport very good with the train station below and the various shops. When I arrived the walk from the gate to arrivals was long with Schipol being a large airport. On return I experienced the same problem with a previous reviewer where the departure gate number appeared less than 40 minutes before departure and then when it did we were panicking we would miss the flight as the gate closes 30 minutes before departure. All in all though I found the airport convenient with transport links and it's selection of shops.