Schiphol,
located 15km (nine miles) southwest of Amsterdam,
is the fourth largest airport in Europe, with over 90 airlines flying
to over 220 destinations. Schiphol ranks fourth behind London
Heathrow, Frankfurt, and Paris
Charles de Gaulle and has repeatedly been voted Best
Airport in Europe by readers of Business Traveller Magazine.
Number of Terminals
1
Major airlines
The national airline, KLM
– Royal Dutch Airlines (telephone number: (020) 474 7747),
flies direct to all major European, North American and Asia-Pacific
cities.
KLM
UK (telephone number: 020) 474 7747) flies to London Stansted
and several regional airports throughout the UK.
Transavia
(telephone number: (020) 406 0406), 80 per cent of which is owned
by KLM, operates scheduled flights to London Gatwick and Barcelona.
Transavia has also recently launched a budget offshoot, using Schiphol
as its hub, called Basiq
Air (telephone number: (0900) 0737).
On the domestic front, KLM
Cityhopper (telephone number: (020) 648 3456) operates services
between Amsterdam and Eindhoven.
Other major airlines serving the airport include Air France,
British Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Easyjet, Egypt
Air, Northwest Airlines and Virgin Express and Continental
Airlines.
Approximate
Flight times to Amsterdam:
 From
London 50 minutes
From
New York 7 hours
From
Los Angeles 10 hours 25 minutes
From
Toronto 7 hours
From
Sydney 21 hours 20 minutes (plus stopovers)
Arrival/departure
tax
This is included in the airline ticket.
Time
Zone
GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday
in October)
Airport facilities
Money
and communications
There are numerous banks, which also offer VAT reclaim
facilities, ATMs, currency exchange machines and bureaux de change.
The post office is located in Lounge 2, and mobile
telephone hire at the Telecom Rentcenter at Schiphol Plaza.
Multiphone multimedia telephone units, which can
be used for telephoning, Internet access and an
SMS service, are situated throughout the airport.
Wireless Internet is available in designated communication
zones in the terminal building.
Eating
and drinking
There are numerous restaurants, cafés and bars situated
throughout the terminal building.
Shopping
There are numerous shops, including duty-free and a 24-hour
supermarket, at Schiphol Plaza (before security) and on both sides
of immigration. A duty-free pre-order and collection service is
available online.
Luggage
Seal & Go, at various locations in the
Departures check-in area (telephone number: (0)20 316 4289) seals
luggage (irrespective of size) within one minute. Lockers are situated
throughout the terminal.
Left-luggage
is open daily in the basement between Arrivals 1 and 2 (telephone
number: (0)20 601 2443). There are free trolleys and a porter service
(telephone number: (0)20 601 2303) is available on request. There
is a lost and found office.
Other
facilities
The airport has a medical centre, 24-hour emergency medical services
(telephone number: (0)20 649 2566) and a pharmacy. There is a fully
equipped baby room and several play areas on Holland Boulevard,
baby change facilities are provided in the toilets. Massages, a
casino and a prayer room are also available.
Business
facilities
The Schiphol Business Centre (telephone number:
(0)20 653 2480) hires out offices equipped with fax, PC and telephone
facilities, as well as a secretarial services. There is also a conference
room with telecommunication facilities. The Communications
Centre (telephone number: (0)20 653 1852) provides passengers
with Internet facilities, mini-offices, a post office and a telephone
centre with full telecommunication facilities and wireless Internet
connection is available too.
The Skyport Business Centre (telephone number:
(0)20 654 1600) hires out meeting rooms accommodating between two
and 22 delegates, which can be reached directly from both Arrivals
and Departures. Secretarial services, catering, video and teleconferencing,
a hotel reservation service and check-in are also available. Computers,
fax machines and mobile telephones can be hired from Telecom Rentcentre
(telephone number: (0)20 653 0999) in Schiphol Plaza.
Major airlines have executive lounges, which offer limited business
facilities.
Information and help
desks
Information desks are located before passport control in Schiphol
Plaza, halls 2 and 3 in Arrivals, and behind passport control in
Lounges 2 and 3. Eight transfer desks, situated on the piers, offer
information on transfers and connecting flights. Multiphone units,
with touch-screen technology for information on the airport, are
located throughout the airport terminal. The Customer Contact Centre
(telephone number: +800 7244 7465) can provide further information.
The VVV Holland Tourism Information Office is situated in Arrivals
hall 2, with tourist information and an accommodation reservation
service.
Driving Directions
The airport is located off the A4 motorway, which links Amsterdam,
The Hague and Rotterdam. The exit
to the airport is clearly signposted.
Car Parking
There are two short-term car parks (P1 and P2), both connected
to the terminal and Schiphol Plaza by covered walkways, recommended
of stays for up to 48 hours.
Long-term parking is available in an open-air car park (P3), situated
4km (2.5 miles) from the terminal building. A free 24-hour shuttle
bus links P3 with the terminal. There is also a luxury car park
(P7). A VIP valet service is also available, reservations are
required (telephone number: (0)900 7244 7465 (Netherlands only)
or (0)20 794 0800).
Car Hire
Car hire companies are located in Schiphol Plaza and include Avis,
Budget, Hertz, National Car Rental and Sixt.
Transport to the city
Rail
There is a railway station in the terminal’s central hall,
under Schiphol Plaza, direct trains run to Amsterdam
Centraal Station approxmiate journey time is 15 minutes.
Night trains serve Utrecht, Amsterdam Centraal Station,
Leiden, The Hague, Delft and Rotterdam.
The reservation-only, high-speed Thalys train
serves major European cities.
Other international services run to Berlin, Hannover
and Leipzig. NS (Dutch Railways) ticket machines
and desks are located in the baggage reclaim halls 1, 2 and 3,
and Schiphol Plaza.
Road
Taxi
Schiphol Travel Taxis are available from outside
Schiphol Plaza, journey time into Amsterdam is 15 minutes. Taxis
can be booked in advance on the airport’s website.
Bus
Public buses run regularly to Amsterdam and other cities. Bus
nos.197 and 370 (interliner) run to Amsterdam city centre and
Amsterdam Zuid. Buses depart from platform A7, in front of the
Arrivals hall 2.
Shuttles
Many hotels offer a free airport shuttle service to
guests. The Connexxion Airport Hotel Shuttle (telephone number,
(0)20 405 6506) is a daily hotel shuttle service running from
the airport to over 55 hotels in and around Amsterdam.
Airport hotels
Hotel
Mercure Schiphol Terminal Hotel (tel: (0)20 604 1339; is located
within the terminal building, beyond customs. The hotel offers
shower facilities 24 hours a day, as well as day room and overnight
facilities. There are a number of hotels in the Schiphol area,
most of which offer a free shuttle service to the airport. Hotels
include the Bastion Hotel Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (tel: (0)23
562 3632), Courtyard Marriott Amsterdam Airport (tel: (0)23 556
9001), Crowne Plaza SPC (tel: (0)23 565 0000), Dorint Airport
Hotel (tel: (0)20 658 8111), Golden Tulip Barbizon (tel: (0)20
655 0550), Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Hotel (tel: (0)20
710 4000), Van de Valk Hotel Schiphol A4 (tel: (0)252 675 335),
Ibis Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (tel: (0)20 502 5100), Radisson
SAS Hotel Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (tel: (0)20 655 3131) and
the Sheraton Hotel (tel: (0)20 316 4300). |
