Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

Not Verified | On April 10, 2019 I traveled via KLM 1414 from Lyon to Amsterdam with a connection on Delta 0075 to Atlanta. Due to the use of stairs to deplane I requested wheelchair assistance. I was delighted that my flight from Lyon arrived early thus affording me extra time. I was taken from the plane a put in a “holding area” and was told a colleague would come by momentarily to take me to my Delta flight. After waiting over 20 minutes I asked the “agent” when I would be taken to my gate. She said passengers were scheduled by flight departure not flight boarding time. I arrived at the “holding area” at 11:30 and my flight departed at 13:00. The “agent” refused to get me a wheelchair and unfortunately by the time she and several other colleagues argued about it, it was 12:40. An agent was literally running with me in a wheelchair to my gate and we arrived just as the boarding doors were being closed! Not acceptable and disgraceful.

✅ Trip Verified | We should have had plenty of time to make our connection but we very nearly missed our connecting flight due to the huge "lines" at the passport verification area and virtually zero organization / control of the enormous mass of frustrated travelers trying to get to their gates in time to make their flights. It was utter chaos. The only reason we were able to make our flight is that we were among the very, very lucky few who were able to get the attention of an agent and convince her we would miss our flight if we didn't get escorted through the crowd to the officials checking passports, who seemed blissfully oblivious to the nightmare unfolding a short distance away as they casually went about their jobs and cheerfully chit-chatted with each other. We made it onto our plane 3 - 4 minutes before the doors closed. I have no doubt that many unfortunate travelers missed their flights this morning. I will avoid this airport in the future unless I have at least a 3 - 4 hour window between flights.

✅ Trip Verified | Very poor organisation at Schiphol this morning. The queues were so long for security that we had to change terminal. The passport machines that Schiphol have purchased are much slower than elsewhere so bottlenecks everywhere. Overall a shambolic and very underwhelming experience. Sort it out Schiphol. It’s embarassing - and I say that as someone from Brexit Britain!

✅ Trip Verified | Long lines for security check due to incompetent personel I fly min. 3 x a week within Europe so I am Security Check experienced all over the world. Unfortunately Schiphol Amsterdam Airport has one of the most annoying security checks that causes unnecessary long waits for passengers because of their pseudo-overzealous security people who think that taking out every little thing of ones bag is proof of a "good" security Check. Do Not get me wrong: I am glad when security is thorough - but please in a swift professional manner and with common sense. I am fortunate enough to be able to use the priority lane but even I had to wait for a almost 30 min even though only 5 passengers were in front of me! The bags of the passengers in front of me were checked till the last zipper of every wallet etc. A mother with her baby was in front of me and every single bottle and bag was checked as if she was a smuggler. To make it worse, the personel is not very trained in communicating in a civilised way with the passengers. The only civilised question I heard was: May I check your bag? I guess that is part of the training. But after that, the communication is rude and harsh. The mother in front of me wanted to kindly help the security person as she was yanking at her bag with force. The answer of the security Person was very aggressive and she rudely told her: Don‘t Touch! And she made a gesture as if she wanted to slap the mothers hand! I was so appalled by having to watch that, that I felt compelled to write this feedback. I hope that the security management in Schiphol chooses to train their personnel better. Maybe finding people with more common sense and better people skills would be more appropriate for the job. Please look at Munich Airport (LH Terminal) as a good example! The priority lane has very friendly people there and they are also very thorough. The one does not exclude the other. That is what makes the difference between unprofessional and professional. You should put a machine at the end of every line asking the passengers whether they were happy with the service.

✅ Trip Verified | We arrived at 7.30am to an extremely busy airport, checked in and went through immigration after a 5 minutes wait. After immigration, there were multiple shops for last minute gifts. Signs in departure are not very good. We looked for the signs that says to go to the lounge. Says down after immigration and no more signs to show where the airline lounges were. We eventually saw a map. Along the way, the signs seem to show up but really meant ahead. We found the lounge after 15 minutes of confusion and trying to walk through crowds of passengers who were mostly strolling or walking straight towards you like you are transparent. That said, security and airport staff are friendly. We went to the gate as suggested and boarding was 20 mins later than initially stated. Not enough seating. Overall, it's an average airport. Signs should really be improved.

✅ Trip Verified | We arrived at 6.15am. Airport signs are clear. Went to the ladies which was average cleanliness. Unfortunately some toilets were unflushed and no one was around to ensure clean toilets. We were first at immigration, which was very quick. We also went through nothing to declare very quickly. Overall, a no frills airport that does what it needs to do efficiently.

✅ Trip Verified | Considering AMS might be renovating itself, passenger volume far exceeds the capacity everywhere. Signs are confusing. Staff likely get gold medal for being rude, display of apathy, and gross ignorance are only matched at Brisbane, AU. There is no doubt it is a filthy airport, restrooms, lounges, floors, seating areas are disgraceful. Business class lounges are over crowded and akin to cow barns with feeding frenzies.

✅ Trip Verified | We landed at D27 at 8.45 pm. The walk to passport control is usually very long but Schipol security surpassed themselves this time by closing the nearest passport control and forcing us to use the one at the other side of the airport. I'm fairly fit so walked/ran and also using the airport walkways took me 17 minutes. It was about a mile. This is unbelievable and unacceptable. For less able passengers it must have taken them about 30 to 45 minutes. Not professional at all.

✅ Trip Verified | Amsterdam Schiphol Security becomes worse and worse. The now installed a new security system and promotes is - no joke - as 'experience lab. The truth is: it is worse then before, takes more time and does not work. I was checked, and from my pastic bag the took a small bottle with approx. 10 ml of after shave gel, due to tha fact that it was a bottle to big (125 ml). I argued this because it was clearly visible that there was only a few drops left. Strange enough they did not find another bottle I forgot it was in my carry on bag and did not presented in the plastic bag since it was in my suitcase since my last trip. So we are speaking here of a very time consuming new safety system, which costs more and fails when it comes to safety. This togerther with inefficient terminal outline, mess of sinage (too much), dirty toilets, extraordinary prices of food and beverage (please Schiphol Management have a look at five star MUC as a reference!) makes AMS a frustrating experience

Not Verified | Huge queues at immigration took ages to get through. Eventually they opened the automatic immigration gates to speed things up. Almost an hour to complete the process from start to finish. It's a good job I was there early or I would have missed the flight. Once airside it's quite pleasant with lots of shops and restaurants to choose from.