Schiphol airport of Amsterdam, part II !!

Posted in Bretagne, Europe, France
Ok airports were like my second home due mostly to my management job. I tend to write briedly on them while doing the recount of my trips but sometimes it is important to give them credit. Not much to spent time on them, but a necessary time they were. After the above rant, here is my take on one I took often , the Schiphol airport, of Amsterdam , And do I have stories to tell but will just tell one ,,,Poor Schiphol it gets so much connections from all over ,even needlessly trip north to then fly south lol! Therefore, let me tell you a bit on the Schiphol airport of Amsterdam, part II !! Hope you enjoy the post as I. This is a simple to navigate airport and well layout for people mover, the flights is another story. As it is known to be pretty good but in my experience not at all. The Schiphol airport has six runways. The airport has a single terminal, which under one roof brings together three interconnected halls, themselves made up of boarding branches from B to H. The airport has expanded the number of uniform platforms, places to stow airplanes, in recent years in two phases. A third phase is planned to expand the number of wide-body platforms to a total of twelve, with a planned completion in the period 2022–2026. The Schiphol airport is also equipped with a train station served by Thalys and NS regional trains. Opened in 1978, it was made underground in 1995 to clear the Schiphol Plaza, a commercial space of several thousand square meters. Schiphol was also one of the first airports in the world to offer offices on its territory, reachable on foot from the terminal. They are known as the World Trade Center. ams-schiphol-airport-schiphol-shopping-plaza-sept17 Ok a bit on the layout well its easy as one terminal and long boulevard walks. The Ground Level has the Arrivals. It connects with P1, and various hotels. Passengers have access to the ground transportation as taxis, buses and shuttles. In this area there are some restaurants and cafés, information desks, a supermarket and various other services as a hairdresser or lockers. The Second Level has Check-In and Departures. This floor is divided between East and West side. The East side: Departures area 1 and 2. It is located the Lounge area and there are gates of the B, C, D (D1-D57 and D59-D87 to the top level) and E. The West side: Departures area 3 and 4. They are served by check-in counters 17-32. It has Lounges 3 and 4 and there are gates F, G, H and M. Then, Gates are split in three areas (concourses):  Departures 1: Schengen gates: B, C and D gates. Departures 2: E gates, and Departures 3: F, G, H and M gates. Then, B to M gates are located on level 2 and D, E, F are in the top level. The Third Level has boarding gates and airlines lounges: It has VIP Lounges from 1 to 4 and airlines Lounges. It also has access to gates D, E and F.  Lounge 1: D gates.  Lounge 2: E gates.  Lounge 3 and 4: F gates (separate passport).  In this level you can also find the Yotel and Hotel Mercure, including the Exchange Avenue conference facilities. I have enjoyed the KLM Crown Lounges and they are very good. You got it , easy does it. ams-schiphol-airport-holland-blvd-to-gates-b-apr18 ams-schipol-apt-mediterranean-sandwich-resto-b-gates-jan16 My biggest hassle here was a couple years back on my flights to Indonesia passing by Schiphol. I had a crazy trip going first from Nantes to Amsterdam on HOP the regional French carrier who was totally late missing my connection with KLM there at Schiphol. The flight was delayed due to fog for almost 1,5 hours !!! no way to get any flights on a Saturday so needed to stayed at a hotel and flight the next day Sunday. Yikes!!! I do not think will be on HOP again. Gladly never had afterward !  The rest was nice as  KLM  gave me a nice shuttle bus ride to the Bastion Best Western hotel with dinner, breakfast  included all free; then a 10€ voucher for lunch on Sunday. The return shuttle bus was nice also. By Schiphol,  I have been before and always lateness there do not understand why going around you need to fly north and then south !!! Again, this is consolation but comparing with other airports where connections I have made anywhere in the world, the only times been late for not fault of my own have been at Schiphol! It must be my jinx yikes !!! ams-schiphol-airport-shuttle-bus-depart-to-hotel-sept17 ams-schiphol-airport-transfer-line-schedule-sept17 ams-bastion-best-western-hotel-front-desk-sept17 A bit of history I like tell us that the Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport, more simply Schiphol (IATA code: AMS • ICAO code: EHAM), is the main international airport in the Netherlands and one of the busiest airports in Europe. It is located 17.5 km from the center of Amsterdam, in the town of Haarlemmermeer. Originally, a Fort Schiphol forming part of the defense line of Amsterdam, a belt of fortifications around the city, is located near the site of the current airport. Before 1852, the Haarlemmermeer polder ,which today borders Schiphol did not yet exist and there was a large lake there, known for its sudden and violent thunderstorms. This is where the name of the place comes from: an arm of the lake, located near the town of Amstelveen, is called the Schipshol, literally “schip hol”, or the hole, the boat refuge. When the first civil aircraft began to use it, from December 1920, it was sometimes called the Schiphol marshes as French pilots ironically call it “Schiphol-les-Bains” (Schiphol the baths) because a Farman Goliath plane sank in the mud. In 1963, work began to significantly enlarge the airport and create four new runways: the village of Rijk was demolished and the new airport, further west than the original, was inaugurated in 1967, as was the passage of the A4 highway by Schiphol. In 1977, construction of the airport business center was completed. The air traffic control tower was the tallest in the world when it opened in 1991, reaching 101 meters. A second was built in 2003, at the end of the newly inaugurated runway. Schiphol airport is also one of the lowest airports in the world since it is 3 meters below sea level. It is supplied with aviation fuel by NATO’s network of pipelines in Central Europe. The official Schiphol airport : https://www.schiphol.nl/en/ The Amsterdam tourist office on Schiphol airport : https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/travel-stay/travel-to-amsterdam/arrival-by-plane The hotel Bastion BW , stayed complement of KLM now call the Hoofddorp : https://www.bastionhotels.com/en-gb/hotels/hotel-schiphol-hoofddorp The Schiphol plaza 24: https://www.schiphol24.nl/shopping-centre-schiphol-plaza/ For reference, the official World Trade Center : https://wtcamsterdam.com/en/facilities/ There you go folks , a brief connection airport, as the other time at Schiphol was there was direct flight and no connections needed and another occasion with Thalys trains. The Schiphol airport was a jinx I am telling you, Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Schiphol airport of Amsterdam, part II as I And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Unknown's avatar

Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.