Schiphol Airport Departures (AMS)

Flight Departures at Schiphol Airport

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol departures should allow at least two clear hours for the various check-in and security procedures at the airport, if they are planning to fly to destinations in Europe. For flights to destinations outside of Europe passengers should allow at least 3 hours for check-in and security controls.

The check-in desks at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol are arranged over three departure halls. At Departure Hall 1 passengers will find check-in desks 1 to 8 inclusive; at Departure Hall 2 passengers can use the check-in desks 9 up to and inclusive of number 16. At Departure Hall 3 passengers will find the check-in desks numbers 17 up to and inclusive of number 32.

Departures at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol can also use the self-service check-in facilities at the terminal. There are various machines located in the departure halls which allow passengers to follow easy on-screen instructions for self-service check-in. These bright yellow machines are hard to miss and it takes only a few moments to complete the transaction.

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol security checks upon departure can take quite some time during peak travelling times. Apart from the typical passport control, there is also a check of ticket, person and hand luggage by ticket control staff, if a passenger flies to a Schengen country. Departures at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol flying to a non-Schengen country will be checked at the gate.

Schengen countries are countries like Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia and so forth. Non-Schengen countries are countries like Israel, Iran and various other political "hotspots" around the globe.

Some low-cost carriers use different gates than other airlines. Gates H and M are mainly for Amsterdam Airport Schiphol departures that use airlines like Flybe, Bmibaby, EasyJet, Jet-2 and Air Berlin. Which gate a departing passenger should use, will be determined by their boarding pass, where the gate letter is clearly displayed. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol departures should also regularly check the flight information screens prior to heading for the gate, in case there has been a last minute change for operations reasons.

The gate numbers for these particular gates H and M are announced at least 40 minutes prior to boarding. As the airport is a large one, passengers should head straight away to their departure gate. The pier that links gates H and M does not offer passengers facilities like, shops, bars or restaurants, but there are toilets situated at both the beginning and end of the pier. The short term announcement of gate numbers for these two gates allows the airport authorities to make the best possible use of the available gate positions.

Departures at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol what have either lost or mislaid their luggage at the airport, should head for Lost Luggage, where all items found or handed in are stored. The information desks in the Lounges will be able to help passengers to locate the Lost Luggage desk. Passengers need to complete a form in which they describe the item lost and airport staff will use this to locate the missing item.