Amsterdam has acquired over the decades a status as one of the main aviation hubs in the European continent. The city’s mega-hub of Amsterdam Schiphol is home to one of the largest airlines in Europe and is among the busiest in the continent. So let’s find out all there is to know about Amsterdam Schiphol International Airport.
How Many Runways Does Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Have?
Due to the constantly changing weather conditions in the Netherlands, Schiphol airport features a quite complex system of runways. Currently the airport features 6 distinct runways of different lengths and orientations. This allows the airport to reduce to a minimum the amount the disruption strong winds might cause to incoming flights. Here’s a full recap of which are Amsterdam International Airport’s runways:
| Runway Name | Orientation | Length (m) | Length (ft) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polderbaan | 18R/36L | 3,800 | 12,467 |
| Kaagbaan | 06/24 | 3,500 | 11,483 |
| Buitenveldertbaan | 09/27 | 3,453 | 11,329 |
| Aalsmeerbaan | 18L/36R | 3,400 | 11,155 |
| Zwanenburgbaan | 18C/36C | 3,300 | 10,827 |
| Oostbaan | 04/22 | 2,014 | 6,608 |
What is peculiar about Amsterdam International Airport is that each runway has a specific name that identifies it, not only the number.
Which Airline Uses Amsterdam International Airport as a Hub?
Schiphol is home to KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines, the flag carrier of the Netherlands. The airline has all of its operations based in what is the only large scale airport of the country. The airport used to also be home to MartinAir that however has been absorbed into the KLM group. KLM is part of the Air France-KLM group of which you can read more here.
How Many Passengers Travel Via Amsterdam Schiphol Airport?
In 2022 over 52.4 million passengers have transited through the Dutch capital’s airport. In the table below you’ll find the monthly recap of passenger numbers and cargo that transited via Amsterdam Shiphol.
| Year | Month | Number of Passengers | Number of PAX Flights | Cargo Tons | Cargo Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | January | 3.896.400 | 29.987 | 103.981 | 1.325 |
| 2023 | February | 3.782.228 | 28.345 | 109.035 | 1.333 |
| 2023 | March | 4.585.101 | 33.128 | 121.746 | 1.446 |
| 2023 | April | 5.128.555 | 36.258 | 113.459 | 1.317 |
| 2023 | May | 5.599.870 | 39.568 | 117.999 | 1.414 |
| 2023 | June | 5.664.893 | 38.912 | 112.994 | 1.337 |
| 2023 | July | 6.009.458 | 40.965 | 113.536 | 1.315 |
| 2023 | August | 60.053.641 | 41.584 | 110.126 | 1.270 |
| Total | 40.720.146 | 288.747 | 902.876 | 10.757 |
The Airport’s Main Issue
One of the most loved features for travellers is the close proximity of Schiphol airport to downtown Amsterdam. However this characteristic in recent years has become the airport’s main issue. The ever growing demand for air transport and in turn the increasing number of flights has created frictions between the needs of the airport and the demands of nearby residents.
Therefore in 2022 the Dutch government unveiled a plan to gradually reduce the number of flights allowed to operate from Schiphol Airport. This immediately triggered a response by the airport authority and the many airlines operating from AMS lead by KLM.
In spring 2023 the first ruling came out in favour of the airlines and the airport suspending the government’s decision. However following an appeal it was ruled that the Dutch government’s plan is legitimate and that the airport will have to reduce the its flights from 500,000 to 460,000 in 2024. That is quite a significant reduction for Amsterdam Schiphol which risks to loose competitiveness against other major European airports if a solution isn’t found.
Which Are The Busiest Routes From Amsterdam Schiphol Airport?
As mentioned before Amsterdam Schiphol airport is among the 5 busiest airports in Europe at the moment. Therefore a huge amount of traffic moves from and to the airport on a daily basis. In 2022 AMS traffic split saw:
- 71% of passengers volumes from and to European destinations
- 29% of passengers from and to non European destinations
The busiest European destinations in 2022 were:
| Airport | Airport Code | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| Barcellona | BCN | 1,204,862 |
| London Heathrow | LHR | 1,140,162 |
| Dublin | DUB | 1,003,177 |
| Copenhagen | CPH | 972,998 |
| Madrid | MAD | 972,005 |
| Paris Charles de Gaulle | CDG | 909,995 |
| Lisbon | LIS | 901,583 |
| Istanbul | IST | 798,103 |
| Rome Fiumicino | FCO | 795,808 |
| Mancester | MAN | 707,150 |
| Berlin Brandenburg | BER | 680,176 |
| Stockholm | ARN | 672,564 |
| Malaga | AGP | 642,445 |
| Zurich | ZRH | 636,835 |
| Vienna | VIA | 611,758 |
| Munich | MUC | 611,516 |
| London Gatwick | LGW | 605,428 |
| Oslo | OSL | 574,143 |
| Helsinki | HEL | 532,868 |
| Geneva | GVA | 528,392 |
While the busiest non European routes were:
| Airport | Airport Code | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai | DXB | 760,101 |
| Atlanta | ATL | 755,443 |
| New York JFK | JFK | 731,791 |
| Curacao | CUR | 650,251 |
| Tel Aviv | TLV | 440,992 |
| Detroit | DTW | 430,438 |
| Toronto | YYZ | 426,033 |
| Minneapolis | MSP | 398,926 |
| Mexico City | MEX | 344,083 |
| Boston | BOS | 309,805 |
| Los Angeles | LAX | 305,897 |
| San Francisco | SFO | 305,821 |
| Singapore | SIN | 292,389 |
| Nairobi | NBO | 281,827 |
| Chicago | ORD | 269,927 |
| Seattle | SEA | 265,596 |
| Houston | IAH | 260,616 |
| Sao Paulo | GRU | 257,468 |
| Lima | LIM | 252,284 |
| Paramaribo | PMB | 247,005 |