Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

I am aware that many reviewers are high in their praise for this airport but I find it so big and the so-called single terminal layout so cumbersome that I often dread having to fly to and from Schiphol. On a recent flight from London-City airport we landed on the‘remote’runway so had to endure a 10-15 minute taxi to the gate. Once we got there the gate was stilled occupied so has to wait for another allocation (typical for this airport). Once we pulled up to the new gate we had as usual to wait for what seemed like ages for the jetty to dock with the aircraft then the endless walking and travelators to immigration added another 10 minutes to the journey. Luckily the immigration was very fast. So given a 40 minute flight from London we spent at least 35 minutes taxiing disembarking and endless walking. I don't find this airport at all suitable for shorter commuter type flights. It may be great for international transfers but for a quick trip from the UK to work in Amsterdam it adds significantly to time and stress.

On March 15 connecting in AMS from GVA to UIO. Chaos happened at Immigration: no lines exist only one airport agent was there but could do nothing to create lines no explanations given. Amazed that an airport as Schipol was unable to organize the situation in which hundred of connecting passengers were left to try to board their flights with that big chaos by their own. This created that my outbound flight was delayed almost an hour. Luckily KL decide to delay the flight to wait for passengers. Not good customer service at AMS Airport: no information given no lines at Immigration not organized free Wi-Fi doesn't work. Is this really one of the best airports in the world?

Excellent airport. Very efficient transit lots of space for sitting and relaxing great self-service check-in zones. Wonderful bars and cafes with good food and drinks. Very comfortable Internet access zone. Absolutely excellent shopping experience. Probably the best European airport I have been to so far.

Had a really good experience at AMS. On transfer from a transatlantic flight to a short feeder flight in Europe we experienced very short queuing times. There are a lot of power outlets within the waiting areas and free wifi in a lot of areas. Shops and restaurants are also available. The Terminal was clean and due to the size of the airport it's not necessary to walk far between gates.

Often depend on a transit airport for my onward flights from the UK to elsewhere in the world) which means we really only have 4 choices from my home airport Manchester which are Heathrow Paris Frankfurt or Amsterdam. Lately we started using Amsterdam simply as it is the best of all the 4 main hubs in Europe and we really enjoy spending some time there. Frankfurt doesn't inspire Paris CDG is a rubbish place to spend some time just a soulless place (unless you have lounge access I guess which we don't have) and we tend to no longer fly BA as it's just to expensive to the destinations we regularly fly to. That leaves Amsterdam and we tried it a few times now and really like it. There's just so much to see and do the range of shops eateries and places to relax are awesome and every pier has something else to offer there's even a museum and if you have the chance to go through customs to go to the railway station you're greeted by a rather large shopping mall as well. Some airport staff recommended we went through customs to go to the roof terrace where we found to our surprise that an airport was parked on the roof for the public to see really cool. I do agree to some comments that security staff at the gate need to learn some manners as some of them are just awful. I guess that's down to translation issues but the Dutch clearly have to learn to add the word 'please' to their vocabulary it just makes all the difference. Airport staff needs to give security staff some proper training as some have very limited English and as a result sound very rude. Overall KLM airline staff are always pleasant to deal with they really stand out from other airlines it is really noticeable. But back to the airport by far the best airport to kill some time in Europe if you depend on a transit airport. Explore it walk around a bit and you come across lots of great places restaurants and bars also on the upper level.

I generally like Schiphol it is large and busy but well laid out and has plenty of facilities and never feels particularly crowded. I have generally found queues short and staff helpful. However my most recent experience was rather less than perfect because KLM has introduced some very short transit times. Going out was 55 minutes and on return 40 minutes. The first was just doable but the second very stressful and I only made my flight by jumping a queue (on instruction from staff) and running the last part (I was not alone). The problem is exacerbated if you are on short-haul Cityhopper flights which park away from the terminal and require a bus to and from them this reduces the transit time by at least 10 minutes. On the second occasion my second flight was 'now boarding' as I got off the bus from the first flight and 'gate closing' appeared when I was still some minutes from having my boarding card checked and going through security. This was despite going straight to the gate at a brisk walk anyone unfamiliar with the airport or unable to keep up a good pace would really struggle. In the end Schiphol worked but I found the experience unnerving and I caution transit passengers with less than hour between flights to be ready for a stressful experience.

There is everything one could want and more in Schiphol. Airside there are hotels a museum casino restaurants good selection of shops smoking rooms and more bars than you could shake a fist at. My favourite airport to spend any length of time in.

Used to be a better place to fly but security is very unprofessional as many other reviewers stated. I don't have issues with the airport itself. Clean decent options for eating (although quite expensive) nice restrooms nice areas to relax and work. On the flip side get ready to be harassed. There is now a full-body scanner at each gate so you are expected to be at your gate an hour and a half early versus the customary 45 minutes at normal airports and even after the full-body scan at the gate you may be subjected to the pat down. For all the things this airport has going it is definitely the worst when it comes to unprofessional and rude security personnel.

I used AMS for arrival departure and transfer from non-EU to EU and vice versa. I was impressed with the overall organization (partly thanks to KLM) very reasonable immigration queues very fast security processing baggage transfer. Another important thing was plentiful and clean toilets. Signage was also a pig plus: clear and often. The building despite being huge Is nice and well kept. Boarding process was also ok. Security search was way too thorough but this is for our own sake. The only two disappointments were railway ticket machines that refuse to accept foreign credit cards (not the airport's fault) and rip off drink prices. Since liquids are not allowed through security prepare to pay 2.6 euro for 0.3l bottle of Evian. Shopping didn't impress me either. Overall great for flight. This is what it is needed for.

January 5 2014 3 years since I last used Schipol. Their staff were exceptional. It would be easy to criticise when things go wrong as they did before. But when the entire process was so efficient so smooth and seemed tailored to getting the job done one knows its working even though one is not so sure. The staff knew there were problems and went 200% of the way to remedying them. 30/31 December 2010. Due to adverse weather conditions my flight was delayed and if it could go wrong it seemed to go wrong. After all it was a severe winter in Europe DUB-AMS was delayed and I missed my connection to Kuala Lumpur. The right hand did not seem to know what the left was doing. To be honest I'd say I was unlucky in terms of how 'tight' my connections were and my own advice would be to allow 2 hours minimum in any Airport to allow for contingencies. It was the same in September and January 2010 and since then I switched my patronage to Etihad. I'm impressed. KLM and Schipol are now back in my good books.