Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (IATA: AMS, ICAO: EHAM) is the largest airport in the Netherlands and welcomed 71.7 million passengers in 2019. So if you are going to Amsterdam, don’t forget to make a stop at this interesting airport. The airport is the gateway to the Netherlands and Amsterdam has only international flights, with some small exceptions by businessjets and governmental flights.

The most popular destinations are in Europe. The following Airlines have a Hub in AMS: Corendon Dutch Airlines, Delta Airlines, Easyjet, KLM, KLM Cityhopper, Martinair Cargo, Transavia, TUI Netherlands and Vueling. There are flights to all continents except for Australia . The largest regular visitor into Amsterdam is the 2x daily Emirates A380 flight to Dubai.

There are also a lot of cargo destinations especially to Afrika, Asia and the Americas.

Amsterdam is one of the spotterfriendliest airports in Europe and apart from the huge viewing terrace on the terminal building, two special spotterplaces were created outside the airports perimeter. The one at the Polderbaan is the most frequented one with toilets and some small food places during the summer. Additionally there is the McDonald’s close to the RWY 27 threshold which has a large area outside to accomodate spotters and enthusiasts. As spotting is a well known hobby here everyone is tolerating you at the airport. Another good thing is that the use of a radio scanner for listening to ATC communications is allowed in this country.

A great 24h real time schedule, arrival and departure times, aircraft type, registration and destinations can be found HERE – DutchPlaneSpotters.nl

Furthermore the omgevingsinfoschiphol app for Android and iOS is pretty useful. It is a radar which display the exact runway an aircraft will use at AMS, once it has entered the dutch airspace.

Runway use can be monitored via: https://www.lvnl.nl/nl/airtraffic

Written by Severin Hackenberger, Patrick Weis, Jan Seba, Julian Mittnacht, Bas Velders (local spotter), Björn Van Brussel and Martin Rogosz (Last visit and update: July 2020)



Rating Movements Airline Variety Photo Locations Weather Visitor Rating

How was your trip? Rate this airport! (78 votes, average: 4.60 out of 5)

votes, average:out of 5) Loading... Loading... Airport Information Runways 18R/36L 3.800 m (12.467 ft) asphalt 18C/36C 3.300 m (10.827 ft) asphalt 18L/36R 3.400 m (11.155 ft) asphalt 06/24 3.500 m (11.483 ft) asphalt 09/27 3.453 m (11.329 ft) asphalt 04/22 2.014 m (6.608 ft) asphalt Terminals Depature Hall 1 Non Skyteam and KLM Depature Hall 2 Skyteam Airlines, like KLM, Delta, China Airlines, Chinas Southern and Other Middle Eastern and Asian except Emirates Depature Hall 3 Skyteam, Low Cost Carriers and Emirates because of the A380 Airport Chart Spotting Information Ladder On some spots necessary (where it is always mentioned), but as the airport is surrounded by waterways instead of fences, there a lots of spotting places where you won’t need a ladder. Car/Public Transport Recommended as the distances are enourmous. It can mean up to 20km from one end of the airport to another. Restrooms Terminal, Spotterplaats Polderbaan or McDonald’s Drinks/Food There are two McDonald’s, some restaurants in the terminal, several gas stations and supermarkets for example in Hoofddorp or Aalsmeer. Hotels Lots of hotels all around the airport but nothing special to watch or photograph the planes. Season We suggest May-Oktober as this is the summertime. It can get very cold during the winter and a lot of fog can come up. Runway Usage Norther Winds Primary runways are 06 for arrivals and 36L for departures. During peak hours arrivals additionally on 36R and departures on 36C. Southern Winds Primary runways are 18R for arrivals and 24 for departures. During peak hours arrivals additionally on 18C and departures on 18L. 18R/36L Polderbaan – Always in use for landing or depatures as it is the longest runway and disturbs Amsterdam itself not that much. Only used for landings in 18 direction and for takeoffs in 36 direction. 18C/36C Zwanenburgbaan – During peak hours active in the same direction as the Polderbaan. 18L/36R Aalsmeerbaan – Normally active together with the Kaagbaan for the opposite movement type (landing/depatures) as the Polderbaan/Zwanenburgbaan. Only used for landings in 36 direction and for takeoffs in 18 direction. 06/24 Kaagbaan – Normaly active together with the Aalsmeerbaan for the opposite movement type (landing/depatures) as the Polderbaan/Zwanenburgbaan.Only used for landings in 06 direction and for takeoffs in 18 direction. 09/27 Buitenveldertbaan – Not that often in use. Mainly if there are strong northwest winds. Mostly used for landings in 27 direction and for takeoffs in 09 direction. 04/22 Oostbaan – Normally only in use for the General Aviation planes. During periods with very strong winds or RWY closures it is also used by commercial traffic. Heavies like the Boeing 777 have been seen to land here!

By loading the map, you agree to Google's privacy policy.

Learn more Load map Always unblock Google Maps